Skin: He wanted full contact

by Johanna Hawke

  Deep down, I knew we both wanted to rekindle our romance. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to open up my heart again. I followed Jesse down the hall to another exhibit, deciding that only time would tell.

  Chapter 8

  Roni

  “I promise it’ll be worth it,” Jesse said.

  “An hour in the car better be,” I said, laughing. The truth was, we could spend all day in the car traveling somewhere together, and I wouldn’t mind. I enjoyed spending time with Jesse and wanted to soak it in before I left for New York. The goodbye was inevitable, but I had faith we could make it work. Jesse could go to community college and keep working at the auto shop, and we’d do the long-distance thing for a few years until I graduated and he saved up enough to move to New York with me.

  Jesse turned off the radio and pressed his lips against my cheek. “Almost there, babe.” With a makeshift blindfold, which was really just an old tie Jesse had found in his trunk, I hadn’t the slightest idea where we were going. All I knew was that it had taken all of the convincing in the world—plus a made-up story about us visiting his Aunt Karen— to get my parents to let me go away overnight with Jesse. I just hoped it would be worth it. The beat-up car Jesse had fixed up himself came to a stop, and Jesse quickly came around to the passenger side to direct me.

  “Can I take this stupid thing off?” I asked with a chuckle. “This is real life, not some sitcom.”

  “You, Roni Vance, would make any sitcom my favorite.” I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but Jesse said it so confidently that it made me swoon. He held my hand and pulled me through a door, where the smell of expensive wine and chatter of older gentlemen greeted me.

  Jesse took the blindfold off as we stood in the lobby of one of the nicest hotels in Virginia. I only knew where we were upon first glance because I’d shown Jesse pictures of this place for months, begging him to take me on a trip here so we could see the gorgeous art in all the hallways before graduation. With prom a few weeks away and graduation a few weeks after that, I figured this artistic paradise wasn’t even on his radar.

  “Jesse! You didn’t!”

  “Oh, yes I did,” Jesse smirked. “We’ll be living like kings tonight.” As Jesse checked us in at the front desk, my eyes tried to take in every bit of the lobby. It was even more beautiful than all of the magazines had made it seem. The hotel was known for having some of the most breathtaking art in the area, and I couldn’t wait to spend some time exploring the hallways.

  As excited as I was, I knew that a room in a hotel as nice as this had to cost Jesse at least a week or two of pay at the shop. “Babe, this is too much,” I said when he handed me my room key.

  “Not a chance,” Jesse said. “Besides, you’re worth it.” I never believed in high school sweethearts making it for the long haul until I met Jesse. As he carried my duffle in on hand and wheeled his suitcase with his other, it took every ounce of me to keep from mounting him and attacking him with my lips right then and there. He was everything.

  The hallway leading to our room was full of beautiful watercolor prints and even a few sculptures that made me feel like I was spending the night in an art museum. No one had ever done anything quite so romantic or thoughtful for me. “This is incredible,” I whispered to Jesse. He replied with a smile and opened the door to our room, which had a trail of rose petals leading to a king bed just like something out of a movie. I laughed, certain that this was a mistake. “Babe, I think they gave us the wrong room. This looks like the honeymoon suite.”

  Jesse shook his head, placed both of our bags on the ground, and took my hands in his. “This is for us, Roni,” he said. “I know you want your first time to be special.” He was right. With raging hormones and passionate love, it had been hard for Jesse and I to resist sex. I just always said that I wanted to wait for the right time, for something that would be special for us. “Not that we have to do anything.”

  For a guy who played it cool for the rest of the world, Jesse was unexpectedly kind and gentle with me. I was certain he probably already had sex before we started dating, but that was part of his past I didn’t care to know about. He waited for me, waited for the right time for us, and that meant more to me than anything.

  “But what if I want to?” I asked, trying to muster up my most seductive voice. This was it. Jesse was about to see me naked for the first time and that both terrified me and invigorated me.

  I slammed the door shut and ran onto the bed, motioning for Jesse to join me. He pressed his body on top of mine, and our tongues felt one another all over. Running our hands over one another’s clothed bodies, I knew it was only moments until these clothes would be strewn about the floor. I didn’t want to seem overeager.

  Jesse gently pushed his hand inside my bra cup and gave my breast a squeeze. He kept his soft fingers against me as he kissed me over and over. Without a word, Jesse slid my tank top over my shoulders, and, looking to reciprocate, I tugged his jeans off of his muscular legs. He was sexy in every sense of the word. For the first time ever, Jesse was about to see my bare breasts. I hoped they lived up to everything he had imagined them to be. As Jesse lifted his shirt over his head, I unhooked my bra with one hand and threw it on the floor.

  “Damn,” Jesse said, his eyes fixated on my erect nipples. He straddled me like we’d done this a hundred times before and ran his tongue around my nipple. As my heartbeat quickened, Jesse pushed his mouth against mine. I sucked every ounce of sweetness from him. I’d been nervous for this, our first time making love, but I was loving every bit of it so far.

  Jesse stood up from the bed and removed my jeans and thong panties in one swift motion. There we were, both naked and horny. It was a deadly combination. With a rush of ecstasy, I jumped up and threw my body at him. We stood unclothed, our bodies as one, kissing deep and hard. Though I’d touched Jesse through his pants, this was my first time seeing his cock unclothed. He was well-endowed, just as I expected. Just the sight of his erection got me all hot and bothered, and I could barely contain myself.

  With a confidence I didn’t know I had, I got down on my knees and took Jesse’s flesh inside my mouth. I moved my tongue around and sucked him hard. The soft moans coming from Jesse’s mouth told me he liked it. “Let’s do a little something for you,” Jesse said quietly. He threw me onto the bed and gave my butt a firm squeeze before thrusting his fingers inside of me.

  If Jesse was even half as good with his dick as he was with his fingers, I was about to have my mind blown. As he reached into the depths of me I didn’t even know existed, I felt my legs stiffen as I searched for an outlet for my passion. I squeezed Jesse’s dick with one hand and tugged on his short hair with the other. So, this was what all the hype was about. I could get used to this.

  “You ready for me, baby?” Jesse whispered into my ear, his breath hot against my skin.

  “You bet,” I said. He knew I was on the pill because all my friends had told me how sex was far more enjoyable without a condom. Sure, unprotected sex in high school probably wasn’t the smartest move, but, here, in this moment of intense passion, I suddenly understood how so many unplanned pregnancies occurred. I just wanted to throw myself at this hot, naked man of mine and not worry about a thing.

  Jesse shoved his dick inside of me so deep that it sent me screaming, a mix of pleasure and pain. Once it was in, it was all enjoyment. Jesse moved back and forth, cradling my body against his. He alternated between tasting my lips and tugging at my nipples with his teeth. I could feel uncontrollable moans leave my body as Jesse went in deeper and deeper. Damn, he was big. It was our first time making love and all I could think about was the next chance we would have to do it again.

  I felt Jesse’s warm cum inside me as my body shuddered in satisfaction. He was sexy, smooth, everything I could ever dream of. I laid back on the pillow, still heaving from the unexpected pleasure. Jesse fell next to me and draped his arm across my sweaty body.

  “Damn, Vance,” he said, grinning from ea
r to ear.

  “Back at you, Parker,” I laughed. Jesse cradled me in his arms. “We’re going to be ok, right? When I go to New York?”

  “Sure,” Jesse said. “But now you showed me what I’m going to be missing.”

  I turned to face him and chuckled. “We can still do this whenever we want. It’ll just take a few hundred miles, first. That’s all.” More than anything, I wanted Jesse to go with me to New York. But, with his less-than-impressive grades, lack of extracurricular activities, and nonexistent plans for the future, I knew it wasn’t even a possibility worth bringing up.

  Jesse’s only job prospect right now was an upgrade from part-time to full-time at his uncle’s auto body shop after graduation. Staring at Jesse next to me, it occurred to me for probably the hundredth time in our relationship that we were complete opposites. I cried if I got any grade lower than a B, while he celebrated if he got a B. While Jesse spent most of his time hanging with his group of friends or playing video games, I was busy balancing my clubs and activities. He was grungy and rough around the edges. I was a teacher’s pet. But he brought out a rebellious side in me I didn’t know I had, something I enjoyed showing off from time to time.

  Here, naked, I saw clearly how my unmarked skin was a contrast from the single tattoo, what he said was the beginning of a future collection, Jesse had on his forearm, a present from his parents on his eighteenth birthday. Yet, somehow, we worked well together. Here, in this bed, none of those differences seemed to matter. Jesse Parker fulfilled me in a way that no one else could. I couldn’t wait to get dolled up and go to prom together in just a few weeks. I couldn’t wait to take ridiculous pictures that we’d laugh about with our kids in a few decades. I wanted it all with Jesse, and, right now, that was enough. Our sexual compatibility had just taken this to another level.

  I felt invincible, turned on, aroused, fulfilled. I couldn’t wait to feel that same sense of pleasure over and over again.

  “What’s on your mind?” Jesse whispered.

  “Nothing much,” I said. “Just thinking about you and me.”

  Jesse traced hearts in circles on my back as he gently kissed my neck. “I love you, Roni,” he said.

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 9

  Jesse

  “I’m serious,” Roni said, laughing. Even in the poor lighting of the museum café, she looked like the cover of a magazine. “He spilled his oil paints on me and just kept right on going with his piece.”

  I smiled. “He’s lucky I wasn’t there to beat him up.” The look on Roni’s face turned from one of enjoyment to one of sorrow. I knew what she was thinking. It was as if I said, “Damn, I could’ve been there, if only I hadn’t wound up in jail and broken your heart.” I changed the topic and figured the best way to go was to be as open and honest with Roni as possible. She deserved that much. I shared stories about the art classes I took in prison, and, just as I hoped, she seemed to be genuinely interested.

  The café’s menu was pretty bare, but the piece of tiramisu and slice of strawberry cheesecake in front of us looked delectable enough to make my mouth water. Roni reached her fork across the table to the cheesecake plate in front of me and shoved it into the cake, and I did the same to the tiramisu. “I missed this,” I said.

  Roni looked up at me and crinkled her nose. “Me too,” she said. “No one likes desserts like you do.”

  “That’s for sure!”

  “Remember the dessert spread at Shelly’s Diner?” Roni asked.

  I grinned. “What a nice boyfriend I was! Ordered almost half of the dessert menu for us to try. We got so sick!” I’d relived that amazing day, sickness and all, over and over, and it gave me a new confidence boost to know that Roni felt the same way.

  “Now that was a great day,” Roni said. “I can still taste that pecan pie. Best one I ever had.”

  Roni leaned across the table, and, for a second, I was certain she was going to kiss me. She puckered her lips and moved in closer, then laughed as she took the last bite of the strawberry cheesecake.

  “We’ve got a funny one here, huh?” I teased.

  Roni looked right into my eyes with a serious look on her face. “I missed this. I missed you, Jesse.” She paused. “But we have to take things slow.”

  “Slow like having sex before our first date?” We both broke out into a fit of hysterical laughter, and I was certain that the few other people in the café must have thought we were crazy. I didn’t care.

  “Seriously,” Roni said. “Not that I didn’t love our little dumpster dive, but that was a one-time thing. I need to know that I can trust you again. You broke my heart, Jesse Parker.”

  I took Roni’s hand in mind without giving her a chance to pull away. “And it won’t happen again, Veronica Lynn Vance.” I leaned in slowly for a kiss, and Roni met my lips halfway. This was the start of something great. It was too good of a date not to be.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my lips in closer to Roni, then gently pressed my lips onto hers. I moved in, harder, harder, until we were up against each other. This was everything I’d been waiting all these years for. Her silky skin was smooth against my naked body. We were almost there. The vibrating of my cell phone on my nightstand jolted me from my dream, bringing me back to a reality where I was alone in my bed, a few miles down the road from Roni.

  That had been one hell of a first date. Was it considered a first date if we’d gone on dozens, maybe hundreds, of dates back in high school? Either way, I left the art museum more certain than ever that Roni and I were meant to find our way back to one another. I knew it wouldn’t come easily, though.

  Even though Roni laughed at my jokes and seemed to enjoy our time together, I could tell she was still hesitant. Hell, who could blame her? I’d been pretty shitty to her back in high school, and I knew that I had to prove to her that I was different. Now that I finally knew where she worked, at one of the local middle schools, I could start small. I dialed Miss Marla’s flower shop and ordered a bouquet of daisies, Roni’s favorite, to be delivered to the middle school.

  Thinking back to high school, I couldn’t recall ever getting Roni flowers. She deserved them, and I knew that, as an artist, she’d appreciate the gorgeous colors. As I drove to the tattoo parlor, I tried to think of other ways to show Roni that I cared about her. I wasn’t sure why, but, with my longer-than-normal hair and sleeves of tattoos, I always felt like I had to go the extra distance to prove when I was serious about something.

  Asking her out on another date? It was probably too soon. Sending chocolates or a teddy bear? Too similar to the flowers. I wanted something that could be seen as a grand gesture without being over-the-top. While I took care of my two morning tattoo appointments and sketched out some rough ideas for clients, I couldn’t take my mind off of Roni. What was she doing? Was she thinking about me, too?

  Around lunchtime, I answered my ringing phone, pleasantly surprised to hear Roni’s voice on the other end. “Did you get the flowers?” I asked.

  “I did,” Roni said. “And they were lovely, but they really weren’t necessary.”

  “Of course they were.” I paused to give Roni a chance to speak, but she didn’t offer up anything in response. “I had a great time with you last night.”

  Though I couldn’t physically see Roni, she seemed distracted. Something was off. “I’ve got to go,” she said. “I just wanted to thank you for the flowers. But, really, no need to waste your money on me.” Click.

  The call was odd, I suppose, but I didn’t read anything into it. Roni had said the flowers were lovely, and that was enough to make me want to take things to the next level. Before my two o’clock appointment was due to arrive, I walked across the street to a small jewelry shop.

  I greeted the shop owner, an older fellow named Henry who I’d known since I was a kid. He’d played pinochle with my grandparents for years before my grandfather’s death. “I need something casual but elegant, Henry,” I said. “Something that isn’t
too flashy, but lets a girl know that I care about her.”

  “I know just the thing!” Henry was beaming, and I was sure that his decades of experience wouldn’t steer me wrong. He went into the back area and came back with a gorgeous bracelet. “Sterling silver, handcrafted. It’s really a stunning tennis bracelet. Any girl would be lucky to have this.”

  I grinned. “I’ll take it.” It was everything I’d been hoping for but hadn’t even known I was looking for. A bracelet was more casual than earrings or a necklace, but the gorgeous design was enough to show Roni that I cared about her.

  The rest of the day went by painfully slow, as I checked the clock between sessions and waited for Roni to be done at work for the day. Finally, after I added a permanent anchor to a client’s ankle, what had to be the twentieth of that same tattoo and placement, it was time to close up shop for the night.

  This was it. While I drove the two miles to Roni’s house, I looked over at the passenger seat, where a pristinely-wrapped gift box was sitting. Along with the tennis bracelet, I’d thrown in a few of Roni’s favorite candies from the old-fashioned candy shop around the corner. She’d love it. I knew she would.

  When I arrived at her house, I sent Roni a text message to meet me on the front porch, knowing full well her father wouldn’t be too happy to see me at the front door. As soon as she stepped onto the porch, I held out the present.

  “What is this?” Roni asked.

  “Just a little something,” I said, handing it to her. “Go on. Open it.”

  A confused look covered Roni’s face. “You really didn’t need to get me anything.” I watched with bated breath as she opened the box, certain that she would be ecstatic. First, she pulled out the smaller boxes of candy, her face emotionless. Maybe her taste buds had changed. I was disappointed, but I knew the bracelet was the real star of the show. The look on Roni’s face when she opened the velvet box with the tennis bracelet was anything but what I’d expected, and I couldn’t believe what was happening when she shoved the bracelet back at me. “Why on earth are you doing this?”