by S. M. Koz
“Use your left foot on that one.”
She places her left on the pedal and takes a deep breath. “Okay.”
“You need to push in the clutch whenever starting the car or changing gears. Put the key in the ignition.”
She does as I say and I release the handbrake.
“Now push in the clutch and turn the key.”
She follows my instruction, but releases the clutch while it’s still in gear. The car shudders and stalls.
“I keep it in first when parked, so you can’t let off the clutch. Try again.”
She does and the car idles in the field.
“Good. Now you have to slowly let off the clutch while you press on the gas with your right foot.”
She bites her lip and nods. Her right foot goes too fast and the car lurches forward. She gets scared and lets go of the clutch, causing my car to stall again.
“That’s okay. Do it again.”
She tries a few more times and eventually gets us to slowly accelerate across the field.
“Good job,” I encourage her. “Now, go a little faster. Then, you can switch into second gear the same way.”
She does it without a problem.
“You’re a natural.”
“You’re a good teacher. First geometry, now this.”
I direct her around the field a few times until she looks more comfortable and then onto the empty country road. The speed limit is fifty-five and she’s going twenty-five, but no one’s out this late. I let her mosey down the asphalt like we’re in a golf cart.
“How am I doing?” she asks, gripping the steering wheel like her life depends on it.
“Perfect.”
We go a couple miles and then I tell her to turn right into the gravel parking lot by the horse track. No one will be here late at night and if we park behind the barn, we’ll be hidden from view.
“Park up there, next to those bushes.”
“Park? Why?”
“I’ll show you in a second.”
She inches along the gravel and then finally reaches her spot. She stares at the gear shifter. “Where’s park?”
“There’s no park. Just leave it in first.”
She takes her foot off the clutch and the car shakes before stalling. “Whoops.”
“That’s okay.”
She takes a deep breath and rolls her neck. “Well, I didn’t wreck your car yet. That’s good.”
“Um hmm,” I murmur, lifting the handbrake before unbuckling my seat belt.
“So, why are we parked?” she asks, turning toward me. “Oh,” she whispers, as I lean closer.
I brush my lips across her jaw. “Football’s over.”
“Uh-huh.” She unbuckles her seat belt and faces me.
“Come here.” I push my seat as far back as it will go, then help her crawl over the center console and onto my lap. She bites her lip, but smiles.
To hell with Dad and his rules. We’ve been good for months and all it’s done is make us crave each other more. At this point, I can’t imagine going another day without kissing her. Hell, even another minute is too long.
“I’m going to make out with the best high school football player in the state,” she whispers, playing with the ends of my hair.
“I’m going to make out with the most amazing girl in the state.”
She laughs. “Well, that’s not true, but thanks.”
“It is true.”
She rolls her eyes and leans back, so she can see my face. “Your dad said I should ask you what you like about me.”
“Why’d he say that?”
“I don’t know. We were talking about us and I told him what I liked about you. He asked what you liked about me and I told him I had no clue.”
“You don’t know what I like about you?”
She shakes her head and starts counting off on her fingers. “I’m not pretty. I’m not smart. I don’t have any money. My future is bleak at best–”
I stop her by covering her lips with my fingers. “You’re beautiful and sexy as hell. And you’re strong. The strongest girl I’ve ever met. To have gone through everything you’ve gone through and come out like this, it’s … it’s a miracle, really. By all accounts, you should be a high school drop-out, getting by like your mom or Chase, but you’re not.”
“So, you like that I’m not a whore or a dealer? Is the bar really set that low?”
“No, I like that, despite everything stacked against you, you never took the easy way out. You’ve got fortitude. That’s sexy.”
“That’s it? You like that I’m making the best of my situation?”
“And you’re hot. Don’t forget that.” I trace the seam on the inside of her jeans with my finger, inching higher and higher with each pass. “Oh, and I’ve got some strange white knight complex with you. From the moment we met, I wanted to protect you. It’s lame, I know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, sorry. I know you don’t need me, but it feels good to think you do.”
“I need you,” she replies, her eyes meeting mine.
“How do you need me?”
“I need you to kiss me.”
“I can do that.” I lean forward until my mouth finds her. Then, I give her a chaste peck on the lips. It takes all my self-control to not ravage her mouth.
“And to hold me.”
“I can do that.” I wrap my arms around her back and pull her tight to my chest. Her heart beats a mile a minute, and I’m happy to know I have the same effect on her as she has on me.
“And …”
“Yeah?”
“I need you to play checkers with me.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
This time, I crush my mouth to hers in a very non-chaste way. She matches my movement and deepens the kiss as I reach under the many layers of clothes she has on.
“You need to remove some of these,” I say, tugging on my fleece. She takes it off and then her sweatshirt until she’s down to just a t-shirt. I pull that over her head, too, and stare at her pale skin and black bra. It’s nothing special. It doesn’t have any lace or designs. In fact, it looks strictly utilitarian, but I can’t imagine a hotter sight. I’ve been waiting four months for this and so far, it’s even better than I was hoping.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I whisper, tracing the edges of the black material with my fingertip and then my lips. She takes in a sharp breath and unbuttons my shirt. Her fingers are quick and nimble, not like the first time. As soon as it’s open, her hands start a very detailed exploration from my neck down. When they land on my fly, it’s my turn to take in a quick breath.
“Just checkers,” I murmur, but wonder if I’d have any restraint if she said she wanted to play chess right now.
“Just checkers,” she confirms. It’s good one of us is in control of this situation. She clearly is stronger than me.
I’m not sure how we manage in the front seat of my X1, but in no time, we’re both down to our underwear and the windows are completely fogged up. Her legs have become wrapped around my back and she’s got her ass right where I want it. Every time she shifts her weight, I question the checkers plan.
“So,” she says, looking up at me under long lashes.
“So.”
“This is good.”
“Hell, yeah.”
“It’s been a good night.”
“Do you always talk this much while making out?” I ask, laying feathery kisses along her neck as my hands toy with the edge of her no-frills, plain white cotton briefs. “Because I could completely get on board with it if you started talking dirty.”
She giggles and bites her lip like she did earlier. “No, I’m not usually a talker.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” she replies. A moment later she adds, “Well, I may be a little nervous.”
“About what?”
“Messing this up with you.”
“How are you going to mess it up?”
/> “I don’t know. You’re not Chase. You’re … classy.”
Seriously? What does she think I want? Gold-plated lingerie? “You’re afraid you won’t know how to make me happy?”
“No, not really … Maybe … I don’t know. I’m worried we’re … incongruent.”
“I’m not feeling incongruent with you right now.”
“Really?”
“My body is feeling quite congruent with yours, actually.”
She smiles, but then gnaws on her lip again. “It’s not just this,” she says, motioning with her hand between our bodies. “It’s us in general.”
“What’s wrong with us in general?”
“I don’t know. I just … you think this, whatever it is, could work between us?”
“I know it can.”
She nods and looks down at my hand on her thigh. I don’t know if she believes me, but she does seem more relaxed than moments ago. “What would you like from me tonight?” she asks with a sultry look.
I smile. There’s no way I’m letting her off that easy. She needs to take control. “I want to see what you’ll come up with.”
“What if you don’t like it?”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Promise?”
“I’ve already promised.” Granted, that was months ago, but it still holds true.
She nods and then rocks her hips, adding to the friction between our bodies and I have to close my eyes. Surely, she’s able to feel how much I like this.
“That’s nice,” I murmur.
“Hmm mmm,” she echoes, and I peer through a half-closed lid to see her face. It’s flushed and her eyes are glossy. I reach down between us and do a little exploring of my own.
“Oh,” she inhales.
“Too much?” I ask, withdrawing my hand.
She shakes her head and tilts her hips, giving me better access. God, I could get used to this. It’s not chess, but it’s damn good. I find her lips again, claiming her mouth with my tongue as our hands begin moving with more urgency.
“Zzzzzt … Zzzzzt … Zzzzzt …”
My phone vibrates and I groan. There’s only one person who would text me this late, so I know I have to look at it.
“Do you need to get that?” she asks, backing off me, but still using her hands to skim over my most sensitive area.
“Yeah,” I murmur, against my better judgment.
She removes her hand and I groan again. “Maybe it can wait.”
She grabs my phone from the console and shoves it into my hand. As suspected, it’s from Mom: Everything okay? Don’t forget we leave at 6 tomorrow morning.
“It’s Mom,” I say. “She’s worried about us.”
“We should go home.”
“Yeah.” When neither of us moves, I add, “In a minute.” I pull her back onto my lap and return my mouth and hands to where they were before the distraction.
I was wrong earlier. This night did get even better.
Chapter 29
HAILEY
“Hailey, wake up. We’re landing.”
I yawn and then peel open one eye. My head is resting on Brad’s shoulder and he’s holding my hand. It’s the exact same position we were in at the start of the flight, only moments before I crashed.
We didn’t get any sleep last night. We stayed at the horse track until after three in the morning, kissing, groping, and having the most intense checker-playing session I’ve ever had. We didn’t have sex, but it was a thousand times better than anything I ever experienced with Chase. Brad was gentle and rough, generous and greedy, serious and playful. He made me feel things I’ve never felt before. Chase never once paid even a fraction of the attention that Brad paid to my body. I never knew it could feel like that with a guy. I had resigned myself to the fact that making out was a way for me to make a guy happy, not the other way around. I’m not sure if Brad knows it, but he totally changed my view of checkers, which is not entirely good. I think I’m going to want him all the time now and we still need to keep us a secret.
It’s proving harder than I thought. After we went back home last night, we stayed up talking until his parents woke up, doing nothing more than holding hands, but still Gil almost caught us.
When we loaded into the SUV for the trip to the airport, Brad’s hand skimmed over my back and then my butt as I climbed inside. I gave him a look that said ‘careful,’ but he just smiled, which makes me think he’s going to have a hard time keeping this hidden, too.
I thought Brad and Gil might talk in the car about the win and finally get back to their normal relationship, but Brad fell asleep almost immediately. My plan was to stay awake the entire time since this is my first vacation, but I couldn’t quite do it. I did great on the car trip and getting through the airport, but as soon we found our seats on the plane, my eyes fell closed. I didn’t even get to watch us take off.
“We’re not staying up all night before we come back,” I say, rubbing Brad’s arm with my free hand. His parents are sitting together ten rows behind us, which is a nice perk. We actually got to be ourselves for the hour and a half-long flight from Raleigh to Miami.
“You didn’t enjoy last night?”
“No, I loved last night, but I missed almost the entire flight. I’ve never flown before; I wanted to stay awake the whole time.”
“You didn’t miss much. I’ll happily buy you a can of soda and a bag of pretzels when we land.”
I smile at his offer, but it’s not soda and pretzels I want. I may never go on a vacation like this again; I want to remember every single detail, not sleep through important parts.
“Look at how small everything is,” I say, pointing out the window. “It’s like a little dollhouse village.”
He ignores my comment and gently turns my face back to him. Then, he gives me a kiss that’s not quite appropriate for a public place.
“What was that for?” I ask with a smile.
“We won’t have any alone time for a while once we land.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, but they won’t hover over us the whole time. We’ll get away from them every now and again. I’ll make sure of that.”
I nod and then look back out the window. We’re quickly approaching the ground. Rather than mazes of neighborhood streets, I now see runways and the massive Miami airport.
“Can you take my picture?” I ask. I want to have proof that I actually did this.
“Sure.” He pulls out his phone and snaps one. “Let’s get one together.” He holds the phone at arms’ length and presses the button. I grab it from him to review the picture. We’re both smiling and look really cute together. Like we’re totally in love. I roll my eyes at my own thoughts; it’s too early to be thinking that.
The next hour goes by in a blur. We land, exit the plane, pick up our bags from baggage claim, take a taxi to the cruise terminal, and then board the ship.
It’s huge. Way bigger than I expected. It’s bigger than the city I grew up in and has way more things to do. There’s ice skating and shows, bumper cars and a carousel, water slides and a surf simulator, along with about twenty restaurants.
“Oh my god,” I say, tugging on Brad’s sleeve and pointing at a picture. “Look! You can rock climb on here! We so have to do that.”
“Sure,” he responds, playing with his phone.
“Where do you want to each lunch?” Gigi asks, looking back at us. She and Gil are walking hand-in-hand through the park-like interior of the ship. “Sit down or buffet?”
“Buffet,” Brad replies without thinking while he puts his phone to his ear. He doesn’t talk, which makes me think he’s listening to a message. His phone stays glued to his ear all the way to the restaurant where we gather food. The options are ridiculous. We can have Italian, sushi, Indian, pizza, sandwiches, salad, or burgers. Plus about twenty different kinds of dessert. And the best part? You don’t have to pay for anything. It’s all included. I know I’m going to gain like ten pounds this week.
When we all finally select our food, we sit down at a large window-front table where we have a view of the port. It’s only noon and we don’t set sail until four. From here, I can see people arrive, check in their bags, and board the ship. It’s entertaining watching their reactions. You can easily tell who’s a cruise veteran and who’s on here for the first time like me. I can only imagine what people thought of my reaction twenty minutes ago when I boarded.
“You’ve been on your phone a lot,” Gigi says to Brad.
“Yeah, I got a couple messages from recruiters.”
Gil’s head snaps up. “And?” he asks.
“I need to call them back.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t want to disrupt lunch.”
“Go! Call them!” Gigi says, shooing him away. “There’s a lounge through that door. It should be quiet.”
Brad stands and starts to leave, but abruptly turns back and grabs his food. He takes it with him and then the rest of us sit and eat impatiently, wondering what news he’ll have.
“This is beyond anything I could have imagined,” I say, gesturing to the ship around me and trying to break the silence. “Thanks again. It’s going to be a wonderful vacation.”
“Of course, dear.”
“How many cruises have you been on?”
“I don’t know. What would you say Gil? Twenty? Thirty?”
He lowers his fork and thinks for a moment before replying. “Yeah, about that. This is by far the nicest and biggest ship, though. It was christened earlier this year.”
“What will we do when we stop?”
“Whatever you want. There’s snorkeling, tours, zip lines, mountain biking. All kinds of things. Just make sure you do a ship excursion, so you don’t miss the boat.”
After swallowing a fry, I ask, “Are those free, too?”
“No, but you can charge them to the room. You and Brad can do one thing at each stop on us. Any more is on you.”
“You don’t have to pay for my entertainment.”
“Think of it as an early Christmas gift.”
I can’t believe them. Every day they amaze me with their generosity. I don’t understand why they would do all of this for someone they met only a few months ago. Again and again I’m reminded that I won the foster kid lottery. To them, I say, “You’re too nice to me.”