by Leanne Davis
“See me?” Ally repeated in disbelief. He didn’t mean that. No way. He was just flirting, or being antagonistic. She scoffed. “As if you ever care if you see or talk to me.”
“You’re so wrong about me, as usual. I always want to see you.” He moved his arms until they completely engulfed her, creating almost a bear hug around her shoulders and pulling her tightly against him. He lifted her off her feet for just a moment as he whispered into her ear, “Because, sunshine, I really like you. I always have.”
Startled, Ally jerked around so her gaze met his, and her eyes studied his face, looking for the hidden meaning. A dark stubble on his chin, Ally was up close and personal to the scratchy growth. His eyes, so deep, dark, and soulful, were piercing right into her eyes. No shyness or squirming. More significantly however, there was no kidding, no bickering, no insulting, and no provoking.
Nate seemed sincere. Holding her breath, Ally’s eyes widened. Dear God, was he serious? When was Nate ever serious? Not like this. He was holding her gaze and her almost desperately against him. Her mouth popped open and she gulped anxiously. He liked her? Always had? What was he talking about? They were each other’s nemesis. Or at the very least, frenemies. Not… no, they didn’t like each other like a boy and a girl, or a man and a woman… or Tristan and Kylie.
No, they weren’t like that. Not at all. Not even once. They barely worked together without arguing about their project.
But when they did cooperate, there was no denying that he had a point, and they might be exactly the same way.
Even to her inebriated mind, it was so wrong to think of them like that. “What are you talking about? You don’t like me.”
His gaze gently lifted to her forehead, then down to her lips. He shrugged. “I do too, sunshine. I’ve had a crush on you since I first met you at your uncle’s birthday party.”
“The night I met you? You were with Vickie. In every wrong sense of the word too.”
“I wasn’t with her for anything but sex. I had no feelings toward her. I did for you though, from the very start.”
“You can’t claim to have feelings for me while you were having sex with my aunt!” Ally said it too loud. Her nerves and his sudden rewriting of everything she formerly believed made her voice way too high, almost screeching. Several people glanced their way, but most were too drunk to pay much attention or care.
Nate was drunk. He didn’t know what he was saying and Ally didn’t know what she was listening to.
His head shook as he confessed, “I know that I like you. It’s not the craziest thing that could ever happen.”
“It is too. We aren’t like that. We are not… that. Not…”
Nate leaned down and his lips covered hers, quickly and effectively shutting her up. First, it was just a rough kiss, closing his mouth over hers with the obvious intent of silencing her. But as their mouths met, something else happened… Ally was rigid at first, caught by surprise, shock, and disbelief before she melted and her entire body fell against his. Her lips seemed to liquefy and go slack under his, convincing her all the more that she was melting. His hand came up and brushed through her hair while his other hand cupped her chin. It was not the drunken grope of a careless party hook-up or sloppy, drunken kiss. It morphed into a careful, hot, passionate kiss. His mouth gently caressed hers and his hands touched her almost reverently.
On and on they kissed, standing totally still in the crowd of moving, dancing, screaming, laughing, undulating, grinding, kissing students. But Ally was gone. All of her senses lifted her out of there. It was like everything around her went away. The noise. The crowd. The music even. It was just the two of them and their lips touching. Her hands crept up to cling around his neck as his arms surrounded her and dropped to her waist. His large biceps rubbed sensually close to her breasts, which nearly had her moaning into his mouth. They were alone. Just the two of them. It wasn’t a drunken kiss but more like her very first kiss; the first one that ever really mattered.
She jerked back at the wayward thought and they stared at each other. Still unmoving, being pushed, and prodded by all the other moving bodies, eventually the crowd, the noise, and the throbbing lights registered in Ally’s senses. Ashamed, surprised, and embarrassed, she turned and pushed away from Nate, nearly rushing out from the stereotypical, stupid scene of making out at a frat party. And for a split second, she started to read way too much into it.
She didn’t stop running until she reached the front concrete steps and the sidewalk in front of the house. Of course, Nate followed. She should have known he would come after her. She stopped, leaning over as her ragged breath heaved and her head spun from all the rapid movement. Nate stopped a few feet back from where she was kneeling on the pavement and staring down while trying to catch her breath. Warmth radiated from her chest clear up into her forehead. Thank God it was dark outside so he couldn’t see the flaming blush now consuming her.
“Ally?” Nate’s tone was hesitant, and deep and quiet. He didn’t sound all freaked out by the kiss, not like she was. He kneeled next to her. “Are you all right?”
“I—I just got a little warm. The crowd… the loud music… the booze…” You. But she didn’t say that.
His hand felt warm and solid on her shoulder. He squeezed it. “You want me to take you home?”
“When any of my friends go out, one of us volunteers to be the designated driver who makes sure all of us get home safe and sound. No drunk driving, no strangers, no getting lost or hurt. So I should wait for Tabitha.”
“You can trust me. And we’ll walk. That will clear both of our heads.”
She hesitated and dropped her head down in resignation. He squeezed her shoulder again. “You seem like you need to go home, Ally. Text her.” His tone was uncharacteristically soothing. He wasn’t usually so reserved around her.
“Maybe… yes, I’d like to go home.” Ally scrambled for her phone from the small purse she wore across her chest. Her fingers instantly felt clumsy and far too big as she punched the tiny keyboard. The effort seemed beyond her, but eventually, Tabitha texted back with a smiley face. She knew Nate and trusted him, so Ally agreed to go home with him.
He lifted his hand off her and got to his feet. She followed, slower, feeling silly for running out so dramatically after a kiss that obviously meant very little to him. As it should. It was just a drunken kiss on a dance floor. First thing every drunk freshman did at their first college party. It was no big deal and she, of all people, should have understood that. Especially with Nate Stratton.
Without glancing up at him, she fell into step with him and together, they walked down the sidewalk to the intersection, which they crossed. They headed several blocks to the three-bedroom apartment she shared with Janice and Tabitha.
It wasn’t even midnight yet and there were lots of college kids hanging around, laughing, talking, and cat-calling in large and small groups. The lights from the city created pools of color and pockets of shadows. Voices periodically punctuated the atmosphere around them. Except for that, they were completely quiet. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye as he pressed the button for the traffic light. They waited to see a white picture of a person walking that indicated they could proceed. They didn’t say a single word to each other, which was a first for her and Nate. They usually filled any silence between them with bickering. Now? Her tongue felt heavy, and her thoughts were scattered all over her mind, and too disconnected to make a sentence. She eyed him just one time, and he seemed to sense her gaze and glanced back at her. His lips curled up into a small smile. He was a bit unsure of how to react to her. He was almost self-deprecating. Imagining Nate as anything but slightly cocky and too sure of himself was impossible, not for the Nate she knew.
Finally, they arrived at her apartment building. They entered the lobby and he waited patiently for her to dig out her keys before sliding the house key into its slot. Her head was still buzzing, and her blood seemed as thick as molasses flowing through her body.
She was far drunker than she usually dared to get.
Nate followed her inside and Ally didn’t know why. But she didn’t question him about it. Or inquire why he didn’t ask her permission.
Was it because they kissed? But that seemed like hours ago, or maybe it was days ago, so far away from her buzzed imagination right then. Pulling her purse strap up and over her head, she dumped the contents onto the kitchen counter. Her tense nerves strummed through her system and bolted up into her brain. The silence between them lingered too long. Nate shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. What were they doing? Ally’s muddled brain couldn’t analyze it long enough to decide. Why was he staying? Should she allow him to stay? It didn’t occur to her that she could just open the door and see him out.
They stood only a few steps apart. The apartment was dark and quiet but for some thumps, bumps and farther off base, another tenant’s music. Voices grew louder periodically before lowering into a murmuring drone. Apartment living didn’t lack for background noise.
“I should leave.”
“Uh-huh.” Ally’s answer was barely audible to his idle comment. Their eyes met and instantly, they both diverted them like marbles scattering around the room. What the hell? Her drunken mind could not articulate why it felt so… odd with Nate; and yet, he didn’t leave. Even stranger still, Ally didn’t want him to.
“Ally…” he started to say, passing her with his shoulder only inches from hers. Impulsively, she reached out and placed her hand on his arm, just above his elbow. Her eyes widened since she was just as startled by her response as he. Turning around, his gaze met hers. She only stared at her hand on his arm. Despite the material of his sweatshirt as a barrier, she could feel the warm blood rushing under his skin and it felt good.
He suddenly spun around and grabbed her. As fast as that, she fell into his arms. His chest was pressed against hers as he bent down and she raised her lips up to his in a fast, hot, quick series of kisses. Ally gasped as her blood started pumping faster, rising up on her tiptoes to smash her lips harder against his. He groaned when she reached up and locked her fingertips around his neck. Her ample breasts squished against his chest and he moaned under her kisses.
Ally stepped back, Nate followed, and she retreated until her head bumped into the wall. After twisting around until he was walking backwards, they entered through the door to her bedroom. Their mouths continued kissing and playing as if they were desperately giving each other lifesaving resuscitation.
Ally kicked the door shut behind them with her foot as they kept moving towards the bed. His hands left the safety of her waist and started to rub her back restlessly. Her shirt got caught up in his ministrations and he grabbed the material in his fist. The cool air chilled her bare back and midriff that were left naked. She gathered up the sweatshirt he wore in her hands and twisted and pulled it over his broad back. His physique was more than just appealing. She didn’t realize how wide his shoulders were until she was nearly clinging to them.
He finally left her lips to pull the edges of her shirt into his fists before unceremoniously lifting it up. She eagerly raised her arms up after it caught on her shoulders. He pulled and tugged it over her head until her long hair was finally clear of it. His eyes were drawn like magnets to the cleavage exposed by her pale pink bra. Sighing with appreciation, he leaned forward and buried his face between them. Ally was startled when he suddenly pulled her next to him. The moist heat of his mouth nearly melted the smooth skin on the side of her breast. His mouth and tongue searched for the end of her nipple, which he lifted out, above the rim of her bra. The cool air combined with Nate’s steamy breath made her nipple hard as a pebble, almost painfully hard. When she groaned, the ache was instantly soothed by the heat of his torrid mouth engulfing all of it inside. His tongue began sucking, licking, twirling and swirling as her head fell back, and her long hair draped down her bare back. She clutched his head against her; and tugged mindlessly at his hair. It was smooth in her hands.
Nate felt so good to her tripped-up brain, she couldn’t comprehend anything but that. He released her nipple and the wetness and cold air made it harden all over again. She cried out when his lips trailed kisses over the skin as he aimed towards the other one. Dipping her shoulder for easier access, Ally couldn’t wait for him to do it. Pulling her breasts out over the edge of her bra, they appeared as trussed up as a feast of roast turkey on a platter. His mouth soon devoured the other one as thoroughly as the first, while his index finger and thumb played with and pebbled the other one. Ally was moaning and trembling as she clutched him closer to her. Her legs began shaking and her entire body felt like a lit firecracker.
He lingered on her breasts for minutes… forever, it felt like. All the while, her head buzzed and time and space were lost to her. She wanted him to keep doing it and desperately needed him to touch and kiss other body parts. Ally’s insides were all stirred up, warming and pulsating inside her, descending lower. Mindless now, her hips pressed forward, seeking the same pressure and the same pleasure. It was all connected and part of her need.
His mouth released her breasts and his lips, still warm and pliant, kissed the skin above her cleavage. He slid up to her clavicle and the base of her neck. She lifted her chin up to expose more of her neck. His lips felt like heat-seeking missiles, deftly annihilating all her defenses.
Working his way over to her chin and lips once more, his hands replaced where his mouth was. Kneading, pushing, pulling and playing with her nipples until she couldn’t stop moaning into his mouth, which was his permission to step forward while she retreated and they moved in sync to the edge of her bed. She felt the mattress touch the backs of her legs as his hands came behind her. He cradled her and followed her onto the bed, resting his knee between her legs and letting his body cover her. Touching from their hips to their chins, their tongues collided and sucked while they both groaned and gasped for more… relief.
He released her mouth so his lips and tongue could travel down her torso once more. Stopping to suck or lick or taste, he was making goose bumps break out over her skin. Her hands restlessly combed through his hair, impatiently clasping him closer to her all at once.
His hands slid down and found the edge of her pants while she twisted her hips and managed to help him slide them down her legs. He lifted her off the edge of the bed high enough to pull them all the way off down to her toes. He somehow made pulling off her socks feel seductive as he removed it down to her heel and one hand cradled the bottom of her foot while the other rubbed gently over the top until he pushed the material free. Her stomach knotted with pleasure and anticipation. His gaze slowly traveled over her supine body, clad only in her underpants. She had no idea why this was happening or if it should be happening. Her mind was ignoring the intense reasoning and logic that usually weighed her down. She stretched her arms up over her head, feeling decadent and wonderful under his watchful eyes. When his hands came back to her calves, she jumped and her gaze met his. His eyes were as dark and deep as she’d ever seen them. She nearly gulped at his serious expression. Where was the fun? The sense of mischief? Where was drunken Nate copping a feel? He seemed entirely different than she could have predicted and so intent on pleasing her in ways that made her hips squirm and her heart beat faster. What? She nearly asked out loud. What did he see in her? What did he feel right now? Why did he look that way? But then the doubts and questions faded as he leaned over her and replaced his hands with his mouth in gentle, almost reverent kisses. Beginning with her legs, he moved on to her knees, first with his hands and then using his mouth. His hot tongue climbed oh-so-gently and carefully up the length of her legs, stopping only when he reached the barrier of her silky underwear. She was wet and he could feel it. Dipping his fingertips along the edge of her panties, she whimpered in response. Shock, anticipation, impatience, and hunger were all tangled up together in her quickly overstimulated and ultra turned-on brain. His mouth soon touched her silky panties and she could feel
the warmth of his breath through them. She couldn’t stop squirming and writhing in uninhibited and unapologetic desire.
“Nate…please… oh, please…” She twisted her head from side-to-side feeling nearly incoherent. She didn’t realize she was begging him. She couldn’t remember ever doing that with a guy before. His fingertips grabbed both sides of her panties and swiftly tugged them away from her body. They disappeared along with the rest of her clothes. Pausing only long enough to slip out of his jeans and sneakers. Ally lay flat, her eyes closed, her body exposed, waiting, but not comfortable enough to watch him undress. Or did she just not care enough to watch him?
The mattress dipped when he settled back beside her. She bent her knees up and his hand went between them as he leaned forward to kiss her stomach. He traced her belly button with his tongue and gently dipped his fingers inside her. Rubbing, and sliding in and out, first gently and then harder, she lifted her hips and cried out with pleasure in response to him. He didn’t move his face at first and snuggled right there against her chest as if he wished to experience her pleasure with her. Lifting his mouth, he managed to suck on the end of her breast and make her his lollipop.
She was incoherent but her body continued to react to his delicate and sometimes rough ministrations. He exerted just the right amount of pressure and speed when she wanted it and then backed off to draw it out over and over again while heightening all her senses even more.