Truth Undressed (Exposed Series, #3)

by Kelly, Hazel

  “I tried once before. Like two years ago. But then she started trying to use- in her words- all the hip lingo. I swear to god by the second time she said hella I thought my Dad was going to strangle her.”

  “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Lately she seems really old, though. I mean, she was like forty five when she had me.”

  “Really?”

  Danielle nodded. “Anyway, are you and Kevin bumping uglies or what?”

  “I can’t hear you when you use that foul language.”

  She elbowed me. “Come on.”

  “Once.”

  “And?”

  “Definitely hoping it happens again,” I said. “Best day ever.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “Best I’ve ever had anyway. By a long shot.”

  “Wow.”

  “But I actually really like him, ya know. It’s not just that he’s good at… stuff.”

  “As if that’s not blatantly obvious to me. You think I can’t tell? His name makes you blush and everything.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Whatever. You’ve been squirrely about him for months.”

  I sighed.

  “So do you think you’ll stay together?”

  “Well it’s not like we’re officially a thing now.”

  “So? Do you think you could do the long distance thing if you had to?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know where he’s going to school yet. Maybe it wouldn’t even be long distance.”

  “But would you? If it was?” she asked. “You either like him that much or you don’t, right?”

  “I mean, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

  “You mean you don’t want to think about it.”

  I tilted my head and rested it on hers for a second. “Right.” I watched Ian slip his hand in the girls’ back pocket and closed my eyes.

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  I looked up and saw Kevin standing at the end of the breakfast nook. He looked positively delicious in his loose fitting jeans and an open, half tucked plaid shirt.

  “Hey you!” I said. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

  He shrugged. “I heard you might be here.”

  I tried to act cool even though it felt like there were beams of light shooting out of my face.

  “Well scoot in,” Danielle said, smiling. “There’s room for one more.”

  I knew she thought he was cute. She had this weird twitch that came over her when she thought a guy was good looking. It came across like she had something in her eye, but I think it was just her trying to bat her eyelashes more than usual. And I didn’t mind her appreciating what I appreciated. I considered it a vote of support for my excellent taste.

  “I’ll grab a drink and join you,” he said. “You guys need anything?”

  We shook our heads in unison and our eyes followed him to the keg.

  That’s when Ian stepped out of the flip cup cluster. “Well, well, well. Look who’s decided to grace us with his presence.”

  I swallowed.

  “Hey Ian,” Kevin said, pumping the keg. “How’s it going?”

  “Did you pay?”

  “How much?”

  “Ten bucks,” Ian said stepping up to him. He wasn’t quite tall enough to look him in the eye.

  “That’s bullshit, Ian,” I said. “It was five for everyone else.”

  Ian shrugged.

  “You know that’s okay,” Kevin said, pulling two fives out of his wallet. “Here’s five for the beer and five towards your dick implant.”

  Ian took the money. “More like five for beer and five for stealing Kate from me.”

  I wanted to shout that I was never his to begin with, but Danielle squeezed my arm really hard.

  Kevin laughed. “She’s worth more than a fiver, Ian. Didn’t you know? Maybe that’s why you fucked it up?”

  “I didn’t fuck it up,” Ian hissed in Kevin’s face. “She fucked it up by being a fucking tease.”

  The whole flip cup crew was watching them now and everything faded in comparison to their conversation. It was like someone had turned the volume of the whole party down.

  Kevin laughed in his face. “Aw come on man. She’s not a tease. Everyone knows you just can’t get it up.”

  For a split second Ian’s eyes flashed in my direction, and I shook my head. I wished I could tell him I never said anything because it was the truth. Kevin came up with that all on his own.

  But before I could even open my mouth, Ian took a swing at Kevin. Fortunately, Kevin just blocked the punch and twisted Ian’s arm backwards until his whole body was contorted.

  “Come on. You know better than that. Remember what happened last time you tried to fight me?” Kevin pushed him to the ground.

  Ian’s face was the color of his maroon lacrosse jacket as he rubbed his arm. When he didn’t get up right away, the girl he’d been groping all night gave him a disgusted look and then turned towards one of his friends.

  “Oh good,” Danielle whispered. “I was beginning to worry she wouldn’t find anyone who would push her head down tonight.”

  “I know, right? Shit.” I couldn’t wait to tell Annie what happened.

  Kevin walked back up to the head of the table oblivious to the glare Ian gave him as he stood back up.

  I tried not to smile ear to ear, but I don’t think I did a very good job.

  Kevin shook his sexy curls towards the door in a let’s get out of here gesture, and Danielle and I scooted out of the booth immediately.

  “Thanks for defending me,” I whispered in his ear.

  “My pleasure,” he said. “Thanks for not messing with that douche bag anymore. Ten bucks for keg beer.” He shook his head. “What a sad little man.”

  I hoped Ian wasn’t too hurt- even though he deserved it- but I didn’t look in his direction again to find out. Instead I turned and nudged Kevin. “I liked the bit about the dick implant.”

  His smile was like sunshine on my face. “Thanks. I was proud of that one.”

  I held on to Kevin’s arm and let him escort me out of the room. Danielle followed a few steps behind.

  “What happened last time you guys fought?” I asked. “I didn’t know there was a last time?”

  “I broke his nose.”

  “When?”

  “Sophomore year.”

  “I thought that happened in a lacrosse game?”

  Kevin shrugged.

  I could’ve asked why they fought. But I didn’t care, and I didn’t need to know. Because it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Kevin had come to the last place he wanted to be and put up with a bunch of immature bullshit all because he wanted to see me.

  And all I could think about was how much I wanted him to take me upstairs so I could thank him properly for coming and standing up for me. And when it came to my head going down, let’s just say he wouldn’t have to push.

  Chapter 16: Dawn

  Lover #6: Your Soul Mate

  I don’t believe there is only one right person for everyone. On the contrary, I think there may be many wonderful matches for each of us. However, just because the odds are a little better than one to one doesn’t mean that everyone is lucky enough to find a soul mate.

  I also believe that we all want to feel loved and accepted by someone. But just anyone won’t do. We all want love and acceptance from someone we love and respect. Otherwise, it doesn’t count for much.

  So when you find someone whose opinion and company you value more than anyone else’s, take note. Because that means something. Most people you meet will never get you, and it won’t bother you at all.

  But your soul mate is the opposite of all those people. Not only do you want them to understand you, but you think they might actually be capable of it.

  Of course, recognizing your soul mate when you meet them is the easy part. When they come into your life, something will start churning inside you that will
make you feel a little more alive.

  Soon you’ll start thinking that if they were anyone else you’d be sick of them by now, but somehow you aren’t. Then it will occur to you that you haven't ogled anyone else in ages. And finally the thought will cross your mind that maybe you’d be perfectly happy never sleeping with anybody else ever again.

  When it happened to me, I felt like I’d found something wonderful that I hadn’t realized I was missing before. Something that made me more... optimistic. It felt like being home. Like there was nothing I couldn’t do if I were holding his hand.

  Unfortunately, just because you’ve found a soul mate doesn’t mean your love will last forever. So make every day count and don’t take it for granted.

  You can fit a lifetime worth of love inside the framework of just one relationship. Even a short one. So savor those feelings and remember them. They can sustain you long after the relationship has run its course.

  But in the meantime, don’t waste your time looking for true love.

  During my professional career, I met so many people that were completely hung up on trying to find love. Some of them even began to stink of desperation to the point where they would’ve repelled anyone that might have fit the bill.

  Now I understand how much pressure people feel to find meaningful companionship. But looking for love is like looking for a rainbow. It will either show up or it won’t, but stressing about it doesn’t increase the likelihood its their arrival.

  Plus, when you’re in too much of a rush to find someone, you forget to enjoy being single! And ironically, the more satisfied you are with your life, the more likely you are to attract someone who's ready to be in a relationship.

  As a result, you’ll be much better off focusing not on finding love but on becoming someone worthy of love. Honestly, the majority of people I know who are in happy relationships didn’t find love when they were looking for it. They found it when they were exploring their own interests.

  Because the whole idea of finding “your other half” is grossly misleading. No well-adjusted, confident, capable person is really interested in hooking up with half a person for the rest of their life. In a healthy relationship, both people are whole on their own. That’s what makes them a strong couple.

  So don’t waste your energy trying to find someone else who can make you feel whole. Only you can do that. And the truth is, you’re not ready for love until you’ve reached a point where you believe you’ll be okay even if your soul mate never comes along. And at that point, you’ll find someone who is just right for you, someone who is also steady enough on his own two feet that he’s capable of whisking you away.

  It’s like that line in Cool Runnings where John Candy tells the Jamaican bobsled team “If you’re not enough before the gold medal, you’ll never be enough with it.”

  It’s the same for love, no matter how true. Don’t get me wrong, being loved is powerful. There’s no doubt about that. But it is not a cure-all. It too has limitations.

  And even though true love is what we all dream about and watch movies about and pen ballads about, it is not the only version of love that matters. On the contrary, no one you ever care about is ever truly lost to you, and there is something to be learned from every relationship. So even if someone is Mr. Right-Now instead of Mr. Right, you should still love them as best you can.

  Because love is like energy. What you put out, you get back in spades.

  Chapter 17: Kate

  I followed Kevin upstairs and to the end of the dark hallway. He knocked on a closed door and then turned the knob. After he peeked his head inside to make sure the room was empty, he flicked the light switches until he found a dim overhead setting. Then he led me inside.

  When I closed the door behind me, I saw that we were in the master bedroom. The bed was big and the colors were neutral. Overall, it was tastefully decorated. Almost too tastefully, like the way you’d want your house to look if you were showing it to prospective buyers. If it weren’t for the laundry basket full of unfolded towels at the end of the bed I might not have believed it was lived in.

  Kevin turned around and propped himself up against the door by placing a hand just over my shoulder. His face was inches from mine.

  “You really want to know why I came here tonight?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I was jealous.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Of everyone at this party.”

  I cocked my head.

  “Because they were going to see you tonight, and I couldn’t stand it.”

  “Is that so?” I asked, wondering if he could hear my heart beating against the door.

  He nodded and pushed a stray wisp of hair out of my face.

  I shrugged. “Well, now you see me.”

  “I know,” he said, fixing his eyes on my mouth. “And it’s still not enough.”

  I wanted to say something clever and sexy, but before I could think of anything, he tilted my chin up with his fingers and kissed me.

  My head fell back against the door, but I pressed my hips against him. Ripples of anticipation tore up my middle. As his tongue dipped in my mouth, I felt him grow against me. It made me so excited that I turned him on.

  Immediately my thoughts jumped to how big he’d felt before and how worried I was that I wouldn’t be able to handle him. Then I wondered if he would even fit in my mouth.

  Without warning, he bent down, scooped me up, and carried me towards the bed. I wrapped my hands around his neck, and he looked at me the like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. I felt light from the alcohol, but just drunk enough to have the guts to do what I wanted.

  He laid me on the bed gently and moved over me, letting the weight of his body crush me against the bed as he kissed me. Once again I wished he would just rip his clothes off, but he took his time. I think he actually enjoyed teasing me until I was insane with desire.

  As soon as it felt hot between my legs, I pushed one of his shoulders until he took the hint and rolled over. When I straddled him, a smile erupted across his face. His amusement at my taking charge just made me want him more. I’d never felt more confident with a guy. It must’ve been the way he looked at me. Like he would never abandon me. Not even with his eyes.

  I pulled my shirt off and he leaned up just enough to pull his off, too. I lowered my chest against his and was consumed by the thrill of his skin against mine. It wasn't until I felt his bare hands exploring my chest that I realized he'd slipped the hooks of my bra out of place.

  It was my turn to tease him, though. So as he squeezed me, I rocked against him, sliding up and down his cock where it was still trapped stiff in his jeans.

  But soon I couldn’t wait anymore. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to know if he would fit in my mouth. I wanted to surprise him like he surprised me.

  My kissing technique suffered a little as I fumbled at his belt. But once the buckle was undone, I walked back on my knees so I could pull his pants off. I pulled his boxers off with them and his dick flung up against his belly, standing like a mountain between us, a mountain that was just begging to be climbed.

  But that would have to wait. I wanted to drive him as crazy as he drove me so I knelt over him and wrapped a hand around the top of his dick. Then I dragged my thumb back and forth against the tip. When I looked at his face, he looked totally helpless, totally into it, and completely on edge.

  I gathered some spit in my mouth- enough so that I could slide right down him- and leaned over. I pursed my lips and curled them around my teeth. There was nothing left to do but open my mouth and hope he would fit.

  He groaned with pleasure when I sank down on him as far as I could. He was so big it took me a second to figure out how to suck him without choking.

  But soon I had a rhythm, and I used my hand to help me pump his shaft to make up for the fact that my mouth couldn’t make it all the way down him. And I was surprised to discover how much I liked it, how much it turned me on to wor
k his cock like that. I mean, initially I just wanted to make him feel good, but his dick was so smooth and hard I actually didn’t mind having it in my mouth.

  Then just when I felt like I was getting the hang of it, it swelled even more. And the moment it swelled, I felt Kevin grab a fistful of my hair.

  “I’m gonna come.”

  I braced myself just in time, and my mouth flooded with warm liquid. He released his grip on my hair, and I pulled away just enough to swallow before sucking him softly again to make sure I got every last drop. Then while my hair was still hanging all around my face, I wiped the edges of my mouth on the back of my hand before looking up at him.

  His chest was rising and falling, and there was a wide smile on his face.

  “That was amazing,” he said, squinting as if the flood of pleasure had made his eyelids heavy.

  I smiled and glanced back at his dick. It was still wet and erect. Kevin watched me as I undid my pants and moved over him. Then I grabbed him with one hand and guided him in place, exhaling as I sank down on him one inch at a time. It felt like I was sliding down him forever.

  By the time I sank all the way to the base of his cock, I was afraid to move because he was filling up so much of me. I couldn’t even think about trying to bounce up and down on his dick. He was too big and too deep already. I could hardly breathe with him inside me. So I leaned forward until I was lying on top of him and held still for a moment while I looked at his gorgeous face and tried to figure out my next move.

  Suddenly, he thrust up into me, hitting the spot he’d hit the last time. The movement flooded my lower body with a warmth that spread up my spine.

  “Well are you gonna ride it or are you just going to sit there?” he said, grinding against me until my clit was buzzing with energy.

  I smiled and realized I was holding my breath. Then I started moving my hips slowly in circular motions around him until my insides were churning. He exhaled and let his head fall back against the pillow.

  It was the best feeling ever.