by Jami Wagner
I switch out the book in my hands for my purse and follow Tripp out the door.
My excitement for tonight trumps my curiosity.
When we step outside, he reaches for my hand. I flinch. Wait a sec, I don’t have to hide this tonight.
His worried expression quickly changes to a smile. “I’m going to make sure people know you’re mine, Lennox.”
I should be upset about this, but I’m not. After living an entire life where people didn’t want me, knowing someone is happy enough to brag about me, well … it’s like stuffing my face with a few dozen cookies and never feeling full or gaining weight. It’s sort of magical.
I’m expecting Tripp to move for his car, but he doesn’t. Instead, we start walking down the street.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“It’s a surprise, but I swear it’s not far.”
I nod without saying a word. Surprises can be fun, right?
We round the corner to the campus, and I almost trip over my own feet. Tripp’s grip on my hand doesn’t loosen. If we are on campus, won’t Winston see us?
Then we turn another corner and come head on with the library doors. They are propped open because of the event tonight. I almost asked Tripp if we could go on our date another night because I really wanted to sit in on tonight’s speaker. It’s Justine Frost, the lead journalist of our town’s paper. She’s talking about the path that led her to picking her career. I read once that her parents were killed when she was only five months old. She grew up with her grandmother, but still, her story makes me feel connected to her somehow. I’m sure she’ll write an article about it or a book someday and I can read about it. Plus, the tickets were like a hundred bucks apiece. So there was that.
I start to take the path around the building, but Tripp tugs me.
“Where are you going?” he asks, an amused look on his face.
“Around?” What is he up to?
“All right, but then we’ll probably miss the entire thing and these tickets will go to waste,” he says, holding up two small rectangle papers with Justine Frost in large print on the front.
“You didn’t!”
How in hell did he afford that?
“I might have.”
“Oh my gosh!” I shout, my joy conquering my thoughts once more, and then fling my body at his. He stumbles but steadies us in time to press a soft kiss to my lips.
For a first date, I’m not so sure how he’s going to top this.
This time when I pull away, I pretty much drag him behind me as I head inside the library. I scan the room for seats up front and spot two in the third row on the end. Once we are seated, I bounce my feet and clap like a kid on Christmas who just opened the gift they’d been eying all year.
Tripp is just watching me.
“What?” I ask.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited,” he says.
“Well, this is one hell of a date,” I say, and he laughs. “Are you sure you won’t be bored?”
“Not at all.”
“Swear it?”
He kisses my forehead just as someone steps up to the podium to announce the guest speaker.
“I’ve never been so sure of something in my entire life,” he says. His eyes meet mine, and I don’t have to think twice to know he isn’t just talking about our date.
***
As it turns out, I have nothing in common with Justine Frost other than the fact we both love the journalism field, but it was still fun to listen to someone talk about the things they overcame to get them where they are today. If anything, I learned that it’s okay to experience loss. It’s made me who I am today, and I like me.
Tripp opens the apartment door and lets me go through first.
“I still can’t believe her uncle turned out to be her real father,” I say. I can’t even imagine what I would do if I my father ever came looking for me. It will never happen, but still.
“Yeah.” Tripp rubs the back of his neck as he locks the door. “I wasn’t aware it was going to be such a depressing speech, story, or whatever you want to call it. I thought it would be inspirational, but now I’m thinking I just took you on the saddest date ever.”
Shrugging off my coat, I drape it over the kitchen chair.
“Actually, it’s a date I’ll never forget, and technically, it doesn’t have to be over quite yet,” I say and look up into his gaze.
“It doesn’t?”
“Nope.” I push up on my toes and press my lips to his, locking my arm around his neck. He takes the hint and grabs me by the waist to lift me. I hook my ankles behind him and can feel how much I affect him. I’m guessing if women had a sign like men do, he’d be able to see that I’m just as turned on.
As Tripp presses me against the wall, I take advantage of the position and reach my hand between us. Tripp’s pants are unbuttoned and unzipped before the next sweep of his tongue against mine. He groans and then pauses.
“If we keep this up, we should move to a bedroom or the couch, but I don’t want you to think that—”
“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I cut him off.
Our gazes connect briefly before he nods and, without putting me down, heads for his room.
I keep kissing him, knowing this is right. There is a reason I’ve waited.
He gently sets me on the bed, and I scoot back to the headboard as he crawls over me at the same pace. Slowly, we begin to strip away our clothes. Each time I remove a piece, Tripp stops what he’s doing to kiss my newly exposed skin.
When I’m down to my bra and panties, I stop.
“God, you’re beautiful,” Tripp says, kneeling between my legs and slowly lowering himself on to me. Our lips touch, and all signs of being gentle are gone. Something about seeing each other in almost nothing makes us act like animals. Pushing my legs apart, he adjusts himself against me. His hips grind into mine, and I swear I can’t breathe. The pressure is about to make me explode. His hand sneaks between us and he shimmies my underwear down my legs. Then he unhooks my bra and pushes it to the side. I copy his movement and slide his boxes off him. Now, with our bare skin touching, I’ve never wanted someone so much in my entire life. It’s overwhelming.
Kissing my lips, my chin, my neck, and moving down, Tripp makes my pulse race. He reaches my hips and I feel his hand spread my thighs farther apart; I don’t think I can take much more. Then his tongue touches me there, and I fall back against the pillows. My eyes are closed and my hands are in my hair as if I have to keep them there to keep myself from curling up or from losing my mind each time his tongue touches me.
“Holy shit,” I say and find the urge to move my hands to touch him. I want him to feel the way I do. I want him to feel like he has zero control.
My fingers coil into his hair, and he stops.
His eyes are dark and filled with the same need in my heart. He reaches over to his nightstand and pulls out a condom. I watch with fascination and place my hand over his as he rolls it on.
Once he repositions himself at my entrance, he kisses me, hard. Then, slowly, he enters me, and although it stings at first, I’m hooked. I’m hooked on this feeling of being cherished, of being worshiped. His hips move slowly; he bends his knees to raise my legs higher. I know he’s in as far as my body will let him go, but I want more. I need more. I push off the bed and wrap my arms around his neck, holding on as I meet this pace.
His breathing is fast, but so is mine, and I know it won’t be long for him. I grip his face to kiss him the moment a rush moves through my body. Like I’m floating and he’s the only one who can catch me.
“Yes,” I say, and that one word is a trigger for him. His hips move faster, and I feel the rush again. I hold him tighter as he curses, and suddenly I’m biting his shoulder.
“Fuck,” he cries out, his body slowing to a stop. I hold on to him because I’m not so sure I can move. Or if I even want to.
Leaning forward, Tripp lays me back on the mattress. The moment he le
aves me, I want him all over again.
He disappears into the bathroom. When he comes back, he crawls his naked body into bed and pulls me to him, my back to his front.
“I am really looking forward to doing that again,” he says.
“So I am I,” I whisper and snuggle into Tripp’s hold, closing my eyes.
Holy shit.
Sex is freaking amazing.
Chapter Fourteen
Tripp
I never thought I could be an addict, but sex with Lennox is so very, very addicting.
“Oh my God,” she breathes, falling onto the bed next to me.
“You’re telling me,” I say and turn to my side to pull her chin toward me so I can kiss her. “You’d think that after two weeks of this, I’d be used to how good it is, but I’m not. Not even close.”
“Good, because I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.” She smiles and gets out of bed.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I picked up a shift today, so I need to get ready and so do you if you want to ride together,” she says.
I tug the sheet she still has gripped in her hands, and she falls back onto the bed again. I climb over her before she can move. “I have a better idea of what we could do together.”
“Already?” Her eyes widen.
“Always with you.”
She kisses me roughly enough that I think another round is about to happen but then she pushes me away. “We can pick this up later.”
“Ahhh.” I fall onto the bed where her body just lay.
“I want to get there early to check the holiday schedule.” She eyes me and smiles. “With the final essay due for the program and all my recent … distractions … I need to schedule time to actually write it.”
“I haven’t started mine either, if that helps.”
“It doesn’t.” She laughs.
“So, hey, about the holiday.” From the moment I mentioned meeting Lennox in the email to my mother, I worried that my parents would ignore my request for a second ticket, but my mother replied quickly that she couldn’t wait to meet her. Looks like I worried for nothing. I just don’t know how Lennox will feel about it or if she’ll even want to go.
“My parents want me to come home for Thanksgiving, and I want you to come with me.”
Lennox eyes go wide and round. “What?”
“Yeah, that was sort of my response, too, but I don’t want to spend the holidays without you.”
“You’re just saying that because you know if I don’t go with you, I’ll be spending them with Winston and his family.”
I’m glad she has someone to spend the holiday with, yes, but this year I want her to be with me.
“No, I’m saying that because I want to be with you. Either way, we’ll be together.” I’d gladly skip another holiday with them—last Thanksgiving, I told my parents to fuck off so I could go on a cruise with Mark’s family—to be with Lennox.
“You can’t ditch your family two years in a row,” she says.
“Ah, once you meet my parents, you’ll understand.”
“I know what shit parents are like, Tripp, trust me.”
“I’m not saying you don’t. I’m just saying there are more than one kind of shit parents out there.”
“Yeah, but with everything that has happened these past few months, wouldn’t it be better to talk to them about all these changes in your life without me being there?”
“No, and I don’t exactly plan to talk to them about it. I’m fine without the money. It’s worked out quite well, if you ask me,” I say and roam my gaze up and down her body.
“Did you even think about going home?” she asks.
“Yes, I did, and at first I wasn’t going. Every family on the upper side of Manhattan is trying to out host a better thanksgiving than the family from the previous year. My parents spend more time making appearances than making memories with their only child, but then I thought about how I could show you where I grew up and, well, I want to.”
“You’re sure?” she asks after taking a moment to think about it.
“Positive.”
One long sigh later, Lennox says she’ll come with me.
“Only because I don’t think your home is as bad as you make it sound. Your parents still want to be a part of your life, and I do, too.”
“So, I should stop begging and show you how much I appreciate you saying yes,” I tug her until she’s right next to me. At this rate, neither of us will make it to work on time.
“Mmm, I think I should say yes more often.”
“Yes, you should.”
“I need to get ready to head to work. I only have an hour to get ready and make it on time,” she says, pulling the covers with her.
“I’ll shower and come with you,” I say. Her face scrunches up, but she doesn’t argue.
She doesn’t even say anything when the water runs cold and we walk into work fifteen minutes late. I liked Lennox when she was all Ms. Stick-to-a-Schedule, but Ms. I-Don’t-Care-if-I’m-Late is just as sexy. I’m planning to let her know about that when we get home tonight, too.
I clock in and meet her gaze over the counter at the tanning salon.
Yep. I definitely can’t wait to get home tonight.
Lennox
We leave for New York in a few days, and even though Tripp says nothing can keep him away from me, I’m not super into the idea of fooling around in his parents’ house. Isn’t that a sign of disrespect or something? He only said that his parents are always on the other side of the courtyard and can’t hear a thing.
Yah, telling me I’m going to a mansion does not help.
“I could kiss you for days, weeks, even months,” Tripp says, pressing his lips to my chest, my ribs, my hip and …
“Is anyone here? I knocked.”
Both Trip and I stop moving at the sound of Winston’s voice.
“Shit,” I curse quietly and scramble off Tripp.
He starts to laugh.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Hearing you curse was,” he says.
“Tripp …” I groan. I grab the sheet to wrap around myself as I get off the bed. I don’t make it very far before he grabs part of my cover-up and yanks me back to bed.
“We should tell him,” Tripp says, kissing my forehead. “All of them.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Why not?” he asks.
“Because they—”
“They what?”
I shrug. I don’t really have an answer for him.
“I want people to know we are together, Lennox, don’t you?” he asks.
“Yes.”
I can’t keep hiding it. I don’t want to.
“Perfect. Now that that’s settled, let’s tell Winston.”
“Wait, not like this. This is would be like tossing gasoline onto a fire. We need to ease him into the idea.”
“Lennox,” Tripp starts.
“This is Winston, Tripp. Kass and Mark, sure, but Winston?”
He nods. “Good point.”
“Seriously? Are either of you here?” Winston calls out again. “The door was unlocked.”
“Go talk to him,” Tripp says.
“What? No. I can’t walk out of your room all flustered.”
“Hmm, another good point.”
Tripp yanks on a pair of shorts, kisses me once more on the lips, and then exits his room, closing the door behind him.
“What took you so long?” I hear Winston ask.
“I was napping,” Tripp answers.
“Oh. You must have been sleeping hard. I knocked like ten times.”
“Yeah, late night at work,” Tripp says.
“Where is Lennox? We were going to have lunch today before she did her thing,” Winston says.
Oh shit. I totally forgot I was meeting him.
“She’s, umm, doing laundry.”
What the heck, Tripp? How the hell am I supposed to walk through the front door?
I start to find my clothes as their conversation trails off. I’m halfway to my underwear when I stumble on the sheet and bump into Tripp’s dresser. His water bottle falls over and drops right into his empty trash.
It’s a tin can.
“Who’s that?” Winston asks. His voice is firm.
Damn. So close.
“Who’s who?” Tripp asks, and even I can tell he tried way too hard to play dumb.
“Who is in your room?” Winston asks.
“No one. I was napping, remember?”
“No, I heard something. Damnit, Tripp, what did I tell you about bringing girls here?”
I dress quickly, ignoring any sound I make. Knowing Winston, he’ll barge in here at any time, and I don’t want to be naked when he does.
I almost succeed, too.
The door flies open, and Tripp jumps in front of Winston.
“Dude, you can’t act like this anymore,” he says, but I don’t think Winston is listening. He’s too busy staring at me as I fail miserably to cover myself with my shirt. It was the only thing I hadn’t got on yet.
“What. The. Fuck!”
“Winston, look,” Tripp says, his hands out to keep distance between the two of them. He backs up slowly till he’s standing next to me.
“I’m fucking looking, Tripp, and I’m not happy about it.”
“Turn around until she gets dressed!” Tripp shouts.
Winston does it, but yells back, “She shouldn’t have ever been undressed!”
“Stop it, both of you,” I say as I yank on my shirt. “You can turn around now.”
“I’m sort of hoping that if I don’t, none of this will actually be happening,” Winston says. His voice is much calmer now.
“Well, it is,” Tripp says.
“Shut up, Tripp,” Winston says.
“Okay, listen,” I interject. “I know this is a shock because it was to us, too, but …” I look to Tripp. He nods.
“Tripp is my boyfriend, and I really hope you’ll be okay with it,” I finish and the room falls silent.