Say Something...

by T. A. Roth

  “You okay?” she asks. Her question breaks me from my racing thoughts.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “I’m good. How far is your car?” I notice her teeth chattering.

  “Shit, are you cold?” I wrap an arm around her and pull her close, trying to warm her.

  “Thanks. I left my jacket in Vonne’s car; it always gets so hot in there,” she says, lips trembling.

  “No worries, I’m just one aisle over.” We finally get to my car. I pop the trunk and pull out the extra hoodie I keep in there and wrap it around her shoulders. “Here you go.”

  She gives me a shy smile. I open her door, and she gets in. I quickly get back to my side and slide into the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

  “I live in South Pasadena. I’m sorry; I should have mentioned that. It’s probably out of your way.” I’d drive anywhere she wanted tonight. I just want to be near her.

  “No, that’s fine. I don’t mind.”

  She nods. “Okay, thanks.”

  “So, is that where you grew up?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “No. I just moved there a year ago. Vonne and I grew up in La Habra. I guess that’s why I like it out here; it’s familiar. I haven’t ventured out much. I should probably try to find a spot closer to home.”

  I nod. “Yeah, there are some cool spots off Colorado. You should let me show you sometime.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.” I reach over the center console and grab her hand.

  ARI

  He wrapped that sweater around me, and I thought I would melt into a puddle. It smells like him. I want to bury my nose in it and breathe him in. He has my hand in his, and I’m looking out the window to hide the silly grin I can’t wipe off my face.

  “So, where did you grow up?” I ask.

  “Not too far from where you’re living now, actually. San Marino.” he says.

  “Eli seems nice. Have you been friends for long?”

  He smiles and gives my hand a quick squeeze. ”Yeah. We grew up together. Our parents were friends. I’m an only child, so he’s been like a brother to me.” His eyes light up when he talks. I can see how much Eli means to him.

  “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

  I nod. ”Yeah, I have two sisters. I’m the oldest. We’re each two years apart. There’s Amelie, she’s twenty, then Alba, she’s eighteen.”

  “That’s cool. Are you close?”

  “We are. It’s hard sometimes living away from them. But they come over and we hang out when we can.” I’m so immersed in conversation that I don’t realize that we’re parked in front of my house.

  He shuts the engine off and stares at me for a second. I really don’t want the night to end. “Do you want to come in for a bit?” I’ve never been this bold. My heart’s racing and my palms are sweaty. He doesn’t answer; he just gives me that panty-dropping grin and gets out of the car. I follow suit, digging around in my purse for my keys.

  Walking toward my apartment, I try to settle my nerves. He’s close, so close that I can feel the heat radiating from his body. We reach the door and I desperately try to keep my hands steady long enough to unlock the damn thing. After a few failed attempts, he leans in behind me, placing his hand over mine.

  BEN

  She’s nervous. Her unsteady hand trying to open her apartment door undoes me. I put my hand over hers. My intention is to help, but the need is too much. The sweet smell of her skin engulfs me, and I can’t help myself. I have to get my mouth on her again. I brush her hair away and get my greedy mouth on her neck. She melts into me, and her sweet ass is rubbing up against the strain in my pants. I want to turn into the Hulk and rip this damn door off the hinges. I take a deep breath, steady the keys, and finally get us inside.

  As I walk across the threshold, she turns and presses her hands on my chest. I take a few steps back and she slams my body against the door, shutting it behind me. Her hands fist into my hair, and she attacks my mouth. A low growl escapes the back of my throat. Her mouth is intoxicating, a mixture of mint and fruit from the night’s drinks. It’s driving me fucking crazy. Our tongues are exploring every inch of the other’s mouth. My hands are gripped tightly at her waist. Oh, the things I want to do with this girl.

  She breaks the kiss and we’re fighting to catch our breath. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?” I furrow my brow and look down at her confused.

  “I slammed you into the door like a crazy person. Are you okay?”

  I give her a soft kiss. “You can slam me up against every surface in this place. I promise, it’s okay.” She gives me a nervous smile. I grab the back of her neck and bring her in for another kiss. This one is slower and less frantic. She moans, making my already straining pants just that much tighter.

  I walk us toward the couch and sit down, bringing her with me. She straddles my lap never once breaking our kiss. I can’t get enough. I’m dying to put my hands all over her. I remind myself that she’s not like the others. I don’t want to spook her. I’ll follow her lead because I have to take this slow.

  ARI

  I break our kiss and try to steady my breathing. I don’t even know how we ended up on the couch. I’m straddling him, and I can feel his hardness pulsating against my core. It takes all my willpower not to move. He grabs a fistful of my hair and begins kissing my neck. My hormones are out of control.

  I steady my hands on his shoulders and slowly begin to grind my hips. I’m desperate to relieve the building ache.

  “What do you want?” he half moans. I’m driving us both insane. My body is saying let’s get down to business. But my head . . . who am I kidding, I can’t even think straight right now.

  “I uh . . . hmmm?” I can’t form a coherent sentence.

  He grunts. His breath is coming in short pants. He reaches between us and begins to unbutton my pants. I’m too far gone with pleasure to object. I can’t stop moving. My hips continue their slow grind. He manages to undo the button of my jeans. I lift myself up allowing him to push my pants over my hips. I increase my pace. The feeling of his hands against my bare skin is spiking my need.

  “Can I touch you?” he pants in my ear. I nod, and his fingers slide down the front of my panties toward my entrance.

  “Fuck, you’re soaked,” he groans. His fingers slide in easily and he works them in and out making my toes curl.

  I bite back a scream. “I’m so close,” I pant. His thumb rubs over my aching nub, and I detonate. My body is like liquid. I see stars . . . Jesus . . . Mary . . . and Joseph. Holy shit . . .

  I rest my head on his chest allowing the aftershocks to subside. His hand is making slow circles on my back and the movement begins to lull me to sleep. He makes a sucking sound and a deep moan vibrates through his chest.

  “You taste so good.”

  “Hmm . . .” is all I can manage for a response. I’m sated. The buzz from the wine and from what just happened is rendering me useless.

  The last few sleepless nights have also caught up with me. I try to open my eyes, but they feel like heavy weights are holding them down. Just five minutes.

  “Let me just rest for five minutes . . .” I hear myself mumble. My body is melting into his warm chest. I could stay here all night. Just a few more minutes. . . .

  BEN

  My pants are at maximum capacity. The button and zipper are straining to be freed. I give her a few minutes. The slowing of her breath is not a good sign.

  “Ari. . . . Ari . . .” I whisper into her ear. She doesn’t respond. Damn . . . she’s asleep. I’m sitting here with a raging hard-on, and I laugh at myself. Karma is a bitch. Payback for all the shit I’ve done, it has to be.

  Despite the aching in my pants, I don’t want to let her go. She’s curled up on my lap like a cat. I continue rubbing the slow circles onto her back. She smells like heaven; I could stay like this all night.

  As much as I love the thought of waking up to her like this, I know she would freak. I kiss the top of her head and gently mov
e her onto the couch. She doesn’t wake up. She moans softly, driving me even more insane. She shifts making herself comfortable. I grab the throw blanket from the back of her couch and lay it over her. I lean in moving the hair away from her face and press a kiss to her cheek.

  I look around for something to write on so I can leave a note. I don’t see anything and feel weird about looking through her stuff. I notice her cell phone on the end table and pray there isn’t a security code. I’m grateful there isn’t and decide to call myself and store our numbers. I send her a quick text. I look back at her resting form one more time, lock her bottom lock, and let myself out.

  ARI

  I SLOWLY OPEN MY EYES. My head is aching, and my tongue feels like sandpaper. What the hell happened? I blink a few times and try to focus. I bolt straight up off the couch. My jeans are unbuttoned and they’re pulled low on my hips. The memories from last night come rushing back like a freight train.

  “Shit. . . . shit. . . . shit . . .” I scrub a hand over my face. I fell asleep. I had the hottest guy I’ve ever been with in my apartment and I frickin’ fell asleep. “Oh, my God . . . Oh, my God . . .” Who does that? I pick my cell phone up off the end table and notice two missed text messages.

  There’s one from Vonne, and the other one says Ben. What? I don’t have his number. Confused, I open Ben’s text.

  Ben: Didn’t want to wake you. Hope you don’t mind but I saved my number into your phone. I’d like to see you again. Maybe less sangria next time. ;) Call me when you get a chance.

  I hold the phone in my trembling hand and stare at it, reading the same message over and over. The phone starts to ring, and I almost drop it. Vonne’s picture is staring at me. Shit. . . .

  I answer bracing myself for the humiliation. “Hello.”

  “What’s up, hoochie mama? So, I need the details, stat.”

  “I uh . . . well . . .” My mind is still trying to process what happened. How in the hell am I supposed to articulate it to her? She takes my pause the wrong way.

  “Was he a dick? Do I have to go find him and kick his ass?”

  Screw it, I might as well come out with it.

  “I fell asleep.”

  “WHAT?” she screeches.

  “I fell asleep,” I repeat with a sigh.

  “We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. We barely made it inside. I don’t know what came over me, but I took control. I slammed him against the door, straddled him, he got me off, then I must have fallen asleep. I woke up alone on my couch with my damn pants unbuttoned and halfway down my hips.” I brace myself for her reaction.

  Silence . . . I don’t think I’ve ever rendered Vonne speechless.

  “Let me get this straight . . . after practically having sex on the dance floor, you take him home, attack him, then you turned into a narcoleptic?” She breaks into a fit of laughter.

  I feel my face heat up. I place my hand on my forehead and continue pacing the living room.

  “Shut up. What do I do? He sent me a text asking to see me again. Sans the sangria, of course.” She stops laughing for a minute.

  “Damn . . . he must have it bad or you left him with a serious case of blue balls.” She’s hysterically laughing now, and it’s contagious. The whole situation is ridiculous.

  “This isn’t funny,” I half laugh and whine. “Tell me what to do.”

  “What do you want to do? Do you want to see him again?”

  I ponder that question for a minute. “He just wants to get laid, and if I’m being honest with myself, I wouldn’t mind a round two. The thought of his kisses alone is going to make me have to change my panties.”

  She laughs harder. “Get it, girl! Look at you, acting your age all of a sudden. So are you gonna call him back?”

  “I’ll text him. I’m not ready to talk to him yet.”

  “All right, well, do it now before you change your mind and keep me posted.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye!”

  “Bye!”

  As soon as the line goes dead, I click on Ben’s name and start typing.

  BEN

  I’m lying in bed staring at my ceiling fan. I couldn’t sleep last night. I tossed and turned dreaming of those moans and whimpers. I finally had to rub one out to relax my chronic hard-on.

  I haven’t done that since I was fifteen. This girl has me strung out. I’m in a daze watching the blades spin when my phone dings. I jump up like a teenage girl and grab it off the bedside table. I unlock my phone and Ari’s name with new message flashes across the screen.

  My stomach flutters a little. Seriously . . . this shit needs to stop. I’m not a chick, and I’m not thirteen. I shake my head at myself and click on the message.

  Ari: GM! I don’t even know where to start. First, I’m so sorry for falling asleep. I feel like such an idiot. I’m glad you left your number on my phone. I would love to hang out again. I promise no sangria.

  I chuckle and quickly type out my response.

  Ben: What are you doing today? Go to brunch with me.

  Crap! I’m acting like an insane idiot. I can’t help it; she makes me want more. I want to be near her and tonight won’t be soon enough. I pace my bedroom for what feels like forever. I rake my fingers through my hair. What if she says no? My phone finally dings.

  Ari: Sure. What time?

  A wide grin spreads across my face.

  Ben: I’m starving. Can you be ready in an hour?

  I’m starving to get my hands on her again. She doesn’t look like the high maintenance type. She’s beautiful without all the fuss. I pray she says yes.

  Ari: No problem. Do you want me to meet you?

  Yes. I want to fist pump Jersey Shore style.

  Ben: No. I’ll pick you up. I know a great place not far from you. See you in an hour.

  She responds quickly.

  Ari: Okay. See you then.

  ARI

  What the hell did I just do? I only meant to send him a quick text. My plans were to shower, put on my sweatpants, and mope around all day feeling stupid. I just agreed to see him again. In a frickin’ hour, nonetheless. What’s wrong with me?

  I don’t have the luxury of time. I strip off my already unbuttoned pants and throw the rest of my clothes in the hamper. I take a quick shower. Skip blow-drying my mane of hair and opt for a messy bun. I slip on a maxi dress, some sandals, and hoop earrings. I don’t wear much make-up. So I settle on my usual ten minute routine. I’m spritzing on some perfume when my phone lights up.

  Ben: Parking, be up in a minute.

  My stomach does a little somersault. My palms begin to sweat. I take calming breaths and pace around the living room waiting for him to knock. Two minutes later, he’s at the door. I take one last deep breath and head over to open it.

  You know that part in the movies when they open the door and everything happens in slow motion? You hear the choir of angels in the background and the character is backlit with a ray of light. That’s what’s happening.

  Well, no, not really, but I swear that’s what it feels like. He makes my knees weak. Like, I actually stumbled a little weak. I grip the door handle to steady myself.

  I thought he looked gorgeous last night, but now, in this light, hot damn. I let my eyes travel the length of his body. He has on a fitted black t-shirt that is accentuating every outline of those six pack abs. His jeans are dark denim, and he’s wearing black Chucks.

  I’m slowly making my way back up to his face when he clears his throat. “If you keep staring at me like that, we won’t make it out of this hallway.”

  My face heats up and I smile. “Uh . . . hi,” I blurt out.

  A mischievous grin spreads across his face. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his chest. I’m tall, but he towers over me. I look up into his amber eyes, and he leans in and presses a chaste kiss onto my lips.

  “You look beautiful. Now, let’s go before I decide that we don’t need to eat.” I tense up.

  Bea
utiful . . . there’s that word. It makes my skin crawl. I want to have a good day. I turn into my apartment and shake off his last comment. Don’t be a freak. I grab my stuff and lock the door behind me. I turn to face him, and he’s beaming.

  “Ready?” he asks.

  “Yup.” He gives me another quick kiss, grabs my hand, and leads the way.

  BEN

  I have her hand in mine, and I’m leading us back to my parked car. She’s beautiful. I told her I thought so and a quick flash of something clouded her eyes. It was similar to that first night when she was at the party. I don’t know what it is. It’s not that she can’t take a compliment; it’s more. A combination of fear and panic.

  I turn back to look at her. She has her hair swept up into a messy knot, leaving her neck completely exposed. I want to explore every inch of her smooth skin with my mouth. She’s glossed up those bee-stung lips, and they’re like a siren’s call. It took every form of my self-restraint not to ravage her in the hallway. I try to focus on something else. I can’t walk around with a hard-on all morning.

  “So, where are we headed?” she asks breaking my dirty thoughts.

  “Plate 38. It’s this cool little spot off Colorado. They serve really good brunch.” I open the car door for her, and she gets in. I slide into my seat and am welcomed by her warm smile and intoxicating scent. I turn on the radio and head out.

  She’s nervous, and I see her fidgeting with her purse. She takes a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry again about last night. Work’s been crazy, and I haven’t been sleeping much. The sangria probably didn’t help either.” She’s rambling. It’s cute.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll let you make it up to me.” She looks up at me through her long eyelashes and a bright pink stains her cheeks. I chuckle a little and reach out to rub her knee, but she quickly grabs my hand before I can make contact. She tries to play it off by lacing our fingers and placing our hands in her lap. I decide to let it go. I don’t want to ask her any questions that she’s not ready to answer and make her run. I continue with more small talk.

  “This place is really good. I hope you like it.”