Discovering April

by Sheena Hutchinson

  “Oh, fuck it!” I kick off the bed and practically launch myself on him. Jared catches me, lifting me up as I lock my lips with his once again. He carries me over to his bed and carefully lays me down as he climbs on top of me. I hear his boots clunk to the floor as our bodies latch on to the others, our lips never wavering. When my fingers reach for his shirt, I feel his lips pulling away.

  “April?” he murmurs as his forehead leans against mine.

  “Yes?” My hands find their way to his face.

  “I… we don’t… I mean—”

  “Why, Jared Hoffman, do you not want this?” I tease, slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

  He smiles, his hands bracing themselves on the bed at either side of my head. “I didn’t say that... it’s just I don’t want to rush anything.”

  Jared’s shirt falls open when I finally reach the last button. His perfect abs are shadowed and defined by the moonlight. My eyes start up his chest. “Rush?” I whisper softly as my hands graze their way up his biceps that frame my face. “Jare… this has been seven long years in the making. I think we’ve waited long enough.”

  He pauses for a second. I hear his breath hitch in his throat as his dark eyes study my face. For some reason, I’m surprised when I feel Jared’s lips on mine. The passion between us is renewed at my admission. It’s my turn to moan against his lips. My legs automatically slide up and down his, causing my dress to hike up slightly before my legs wrap themselves around his waist. His hands make their way up my side slowly as if ingraining into memory the curve of my body. My hands have automatically found their way to his belt. I slip my fingers through it and release the hook, swinging it open. Before I know it, I’m unbuttoning his jeans. That’s when I feel his hands squeeze me tight. His lips leave mine for the first time since I spoke, and I feel them slowly trace their way down my neck. My fists clench against the skin on his waist.

  “Oh, Jared,” I groan.

  His body freezes above me for a fraction of a second. His head lifts out of the crook of my neck to meet my eyes again.

  “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you call my name like that?” he whispers.

  My hands find their way to his face and mingle with his hair. “There’s more where that came from.” I shoot him a sexy smirk before pulling his lips back to mine.

  I ROLL OVER THE next day, wrapped in nothing but Jared’s cream sheets. Once I notice I’m alone, I take the opportunity to let out a hushed scream into his pillow. I can’t believe that really happened last night, I think as I spin back around and bite my nails. The sly smile plays on my lips as I think back to the events of the past night. I don’t really remember when we started taking each other’s clothes off. But I do remember lying there naked in front of each other for the first time ever. I remember him pausing, taking me all in. The way his eyes darted all over my body was the way I looked at a painting in a museum. It was a look of awe and appreciation.

  When I just couldn’t take his sexy gaze anymore, I climbed on top of him. Our eyes met right before – his eyes were so eager and vulnerable. I’ll never forget how we both gasped at the same time, when I first felt him before I began a slow rhythm. I allowed his hands to explore every inch of me until I couldn’t bear to be away from his lips any longer. I leaned over, meeting them as his arms wrapped around me to bring me closer and closer until there wasn’t a single breath between us. That’s when things really began to heat up. With one swift motion, he flipped me over until he was on top of me, never pulling away from my lips. Once Jared took control, I can’t seem to remember anything but ecstasy—I do recall screaming his name quite a few times as promised.

  “Oh my God,” I mutter, rolling into the pillow once again.

  That’s when I hear footsteps making their way up the creaking stairs.

  Oh crap.

  I run my fingers through my hair a few times, lick my finger, and run it under my eye so I don’t have that classy raccoon look. I have just enough time to pull the sheets up to the curve of my breasts before I see Jared walking in, carrying a cup of coffee between his hands. It’s his blue plaid boxers that really catch my attention, though.

  “Good. You’re up!” He sits on the edge of the bed, offering me the cup between his hands.

  “Mmm, yeah. Thanks.” I take the cup from him, trying not to think about the fact that I just touched the same hands that were all over me last night. My body gives me away as I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. I try to cover it up by taking a sip of coffee.

  “So…” I mutter with my lips against the cup. “Last night…”

  “…was amazing.” He finishes my sentence.

  “Yeah,” I admit, shying away from his gaze.

  “Apes…”

  I place my cup on the nightstand after another sip while he fumbles with his words. Before he can finish his train of thought, I interrupt him with thoughts of my own. “Jare—I’m going to take a shower.”

  I climb out from under the covers, allowing them to reveal my naked body as I slip to my feet. I feel his eyes on me. “Wanna join me?”

  I feel my hair tickle my bare back as I peek over my shoulder at him. He’s on his feet in seconds. I reach my hand for his and guide him to the door next to the lavender room. The grey tiled bathroom is slightly small, I think, as I lean my bare behind against the cold sink. Jared opens the tall glass door of the shower and turns it on. Before he can turn around, I’m already slipping my fingers into his boxers and letting them fall to the ground. Jared steps out of them before pulling me into the stream of hot water. The glass door thunks closed behind us, but I barely notice because Jared’s hard body is pinning me against the tiled wall. His tongue parts my lips and coaxes something deep inside of me to awaken once again. My teeth carefully graze his bottom lip as I pull away, leaving a trail of kisses down his neck and onto his chest. He’s rock hard from the past five seconds alone, and I have to stop kissing when I reach his belly button just to pull him into my mouth. His hands involuntarily reach out to grab the bar on the door when I catch him by surprise. I begin my steady pace of pulling him in and out of my mouth. I’m so deep into my rhythm that by the time I look up, Jared’s head is leaned back against the wall and his lip is under his front teeth. For some reason, this bothers me. That’s my lip now! Releasing my hold on him, I glide up to meet his lips again.

  “Oh, my God baby, that was—” Before he can continue I’ve given his mouth something better to do. The rest of his sentence is a murmur against my lips as our tongues mingle once more.

  He spins me around and I brace myself against the glass wall before I welcome him inside me. He carefully thrusts into me as the water drizzles down around us. When I finally open my eyes, I realize my hands are flat against the shower door, but Jared’s are nowhere to be seen. That’s when I feel him slip my hair over my shoulder and his warm breath on the back of my neck is hotter than the water on my back. I automatically close my eyes, savoring the feeling of his proximity to me. I moan when I feel the tip of his nose run itself down my neck, only to circle back and this time he leaves a trail of kisses down it. He continues his slow circling kisses down my back until I feel it building up inside of me. My incessant breaths are causing even more steam against the glass as my fingers uncontrollably twitch until I hear Jared’s smooth voice whisper into my ear.

  “Come for me, baby.”

  That’s when I can no longer maintain my control. He grips my waist tighter as he thrusts deeper inside me, finally causing the world to explode all around me. I have to lean my head against the glass as the last of my orgasm racks through me. Jared only lasts a few more seconds after he witnesses me lose all control.

  I feel his forehead slump onto my shoulder as he tries to catch his breath again. We stay like that for a minute before he kisses my shoulder and pulls away. I twist to see him dunk his head under the stream of water before running his hands down his face.

  “I’m thinking pancakes. You coming?” His arm wraps around my waist
, pulling our bodies face to face.

  “I still haven’t showered yet, babe.” I smirk up at him.

  “Right… I may have showered before.” He winks. “I’ll meet you downstairs then.”

  He leaves me staring after his tight butt after he kisses me on the forehead. I hear the bathroom door shut behind him before I lean forward and allow the water to cascade down my face and through my hair. Wow, is all I can think as I take a step backward, reaching for the soap. I grab the bar and lather it up in my hands before bringing it to my nose. It smells just like the fresh scent I associate with Jared. My hands glide themselves down my arms and across my chest before down one leg and finally the other.

  By the time I rinse myself clean, the scent of his soap fills the room. I slip out of the shower and notice a yellow towel folded and sitting on the sink that wasn’t there when I was leaning against it earlier. I wrap myself into it before glancing back towards the shower. My handprints are still visible against the steaming glass. My hands reflexively extend to place themselves against the only remnant of our passionate tryst in the shower. My mind whips back to Jared’s breathing on my ear, his kisses down my back. That’s when I realize – I’m in trouble. There is no way I’m turning back now. I don’t know if it’s my wet hair dripping down my back or the though of what Eric will say when he finds out that leaves me with a shiver.

  AFTER AN AMAZING weekend, we spend the entire week together. The only time we are apart is when I am in school. Even then, our eyes lock through the window. We are like polar magnets; no matter where we are, we are drawn to each other. I can feel him; it’s crazy to explain. We carpool every day and Ro doesn’t tease me about it anymore. I think it’s because I admitted to her that we are an item now. I don’t like to call him my boyfriend; I don’t want to jinx anything. Speaking of a jinx, it seems my furry little friend has also taken a keen interest in Jared. I’m old news whenever Jared comes over.

  The first time Jared came inside my house was Tuesday. He opened the fridge for a glass of water. When he saw the bottle of mayo, ketchup, and old stick of butter, he grabbed me by the arm and took me grocery shopping. On the ride there, he made me spill my guts about my money troubles. The lack of medical insurance was only the tip of the iceberg. He listened intently and his harsh face was unreadable until he finally spoke.

  “You’re going to move in with me.”

  I blatantly laughed in his face. “No, I’m not.”

  “Apes, you can’t afford to live on your own anymore and go to school! I have plenty of room in my house. Come live with me.”

  “I can’t… that wouldn’t work.” I told him.

  I think we had our first little argument about moving in with him. It was actually pretty cute, but in the end he realized there was no budging me. It’s funny: he gave me my balls back, but I don’t think he was expecting me to use them on him. On the other hand, maybe he likes me better this way.

  Even with our little argument, this past week was one of the best of my life. It’s not because we did anything special either. We literally just hung out at my house or his.

  Now it’s Friday, and we are sitting on the bleachers with the remnants of lunch beside us. We still get the passing glance from the student body, but no one seems surprised anymore.

  “Apes, Mack’s having a bonfire tonight at his beach house and we were invited. Would you want to go?” he turns to face me.

  He actually asked me what I wanted to do! It’s so refreshing rather than to be told.

  “Oh, all of the crew is going?” I ask curiously, but inside I’m cringing thinking about seeing Eric again.

  “Yup,” he says, putting his arm around me and pulling me closer. I think he noticed me shivering slightly.

  “Yea, sounds like fun.” I find myself wanting to hang out with Stacey and Mack again. Despite Eric’s outburst, I think Jared’s friends are actually kind of cool. I don’t feel like they are judging me or trying to hook my boyfriend up with their cousin. I kind of feel like myself around them.

  “Okay, we’ll head out there after you get out of work.”

  “You know, it’s kind of creepy that you know my work schedule.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. It’s the same every week; it’s not that hard to memorize.”

  “Why, Jared Hoffman, you sure know how to make a girl feel special!”

  JACK’S COFFEE BEAN is practically dead. I haven’t seen a customer in hours. It helps that I work the night shift; I miss all the morning traffic. The only customers at night are people with work to do and people avoiding their families. I find my mind wandering as I stare out the large front window of the coffee shop.

  My thoughts range from whether Jared’s friends like me to wondering what Eric will say when I show up with Jared once again. I swear that guy could gut me and hang me on his wall like a hunting trophy and no one would say anything.

  The swishing of hair interrupts my wandering thoughts. It’s the hue that catches my attention. It’s red, a real red. If I didn’t know any better, I would say it’s brighter than it was only a few days ago. The bell chimes with her arrival and I stand straighter. There is something about her that demands attention now. I watch almost in awe as she approaches the counter. She places her usual latte order and glances around anxiously. I almost want to tell her not to bother; Jack is in the back, pal. My eyes gravitate to her, trying to figure out what has changed in her. Her whole aura has changed. She appears more confident, her eyes brighter. She no longer looks worn down by the worry of the world and I envy that in some ways. I can tell why Jack likes her. She’s completely ethereal, goddess-like – especially now. Maybe she’s had some work done, some Botox to get rid of those worry wrinkles she had.

  I’m debating this as I hand her the coffee cup and she makes her way to the ugly old chair in the corner that I begged Jack to throw out once. He absolutely refused and I think it has something to do with Sera here. I think maybe he thinks if he throws out the dirty old chair, Sera might not come in, which is completely false. She crumples into the chair with her latte at her lips. She stares out the window as if she is looking for something. I can almost make out her eyes brimming with tears. The way she looks makes me shiver. I feel something strange going on around here and I wonder if she can, too. Even as she looks out into the empty parking lot looking like a lost puppy, she still demands to be seen. It’s as if she’s glowing from the inside out. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s so hard to put into words. As if sensing her presence, Jack comes wandering out of his office. He notices her appearance as well, and says a few whispered things to her before coaxing her into his office. That’s when I break out of my trance. I’ve seen her with that blue-eyed hunk; if she even thinks about breaking Jack’s heart, I swear I’ll hurt her. Jack is such a great guy, so trusting, and I can tell when he falls in love, he falls hard. I can’t let her just take advantage of him like that. It’s cruel. I don’t wait for them to reappear; instead, I wipe down the counters and close up shop.

  Once I’ve locked the door to the shop, I pick up the two bags of garbage and begin making my way around back to the dumpster. The cool breeze whips through my light jacket and I shiver in response. It is a brisk breeze, almost unnaturally cold. I’m slightly distracted by the moon, which is completely full and shining so bright right above me. I’m slightly mesmerized by it as I walk up to the dumpster and toss the bags over the side. It isn’t until I hear a rustling from the bushes behind the green bin that my heart begins to race. My eyes immediately scan the parking lot. Awesome – it’s empty except for the white car of Jack’s redhead. Backing up slowly, I reach into my purse as my eyes study the bushes. My fingers grasp the bottle of mace and I take a breath of relief before I hear a strange noise. At first I think it might be a growl, but as it reaches me I think it might be some kind of evil chuckle. The panic must finally set in because I grip the mace for dear life and spin into a run, heading back towards the front of the shop where someone can at
least hear me screaming. I swear when I glance back I see the bushes swaying slightly. My heart leaps into my throat and I hit something as I turn back around.

  “Hey,” Jared mutters, rubbing his chest where I just smacked into him.

  I rub my nose. “Holy crud! You scared the bejesus out of me!”

  “Bejesus? You’re still on this no cursing thing, huh?” He smirks, lifting his head up like he just thought of something amusing. “I pulled up front and all the lights were out. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

  “Ha, no, I just had to throw out the trash.” I point back towards the dumpster. Following my finger with my eyes, nothing seems to be so intimidating about it now.

  “Okay, you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I retort as he wraps his arm around my shoulder.

  It seems like even the night has warmed as we walk towards Jared’s Jeep. I glance back one more time over Jared’s arm at the dark bushes before I rub the goosebumps on my arms.

  AN HOUR OR SO LATER, Jared and I pull up the Wrangler to a glass house that looks like something out of a movie. The high-pitched roof seems to hang suspended in the air because the remainder of the house is all glass. We’re in the middle of nowhere so I guess he doesn’t have to worry about privacy, but what about hurricanes or something? I see a few lights on in the house welcoming us, but the main source of light is emanating from behind the house. It’s so bright I can see it through the house and around both sides. Climbing out of the Jeep, we head towards the beach. Before I can get too far, I feel Jared’s warm fingers link with mine. I wonder if he told his friends about us, and suddenly I find myself worrying once again about Eric. All fears are vanquished as we round the corner of the house and see them all sitting around the huge bonfire right on the beach. Stacey catches sight of me first and I see her gaze drop to our clasped hands. She lowers her cup to spit the alcohol into the fire, causing it to burst brighter for a second.