Tag You're Mine

by Catherine Charles

  “So, you’re coming to Arizona?”

  “Yes.”

  “With me?”

  “Let’s see how the rest of senior year goes.”

  “For me?”

  “Yes.”

  We lay there for a few more moments. “What else have I done?”

  “You bought me Kringle for Christmas. You saved my life at Thanksgiving, granted you were partially the reason I almost died, so honestly, it only seemed right you be the one to save me.”

  “What did I do?”

  “My mother and Gramps were giving me hell about, well…” Her cheeks are bright red. “God, I wished you remembered this.”

  “Tell me, Pres. Rip it off like a Band-Aid.”

  She buries her head into my side and mumbles something out.

  “What?”

  She repeats it, but I’m still having a hard time understanding her.

  I try to push her away, but she stays buried deep. Little giggles dance across the night air at each attempt I make, until I give up and roll on top of her, using my forearms to support my weight as I cup her head and hold her steady. “Now say it again. What were they giving you hell about?”

  She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and says, “You would have been my first. Tonight, umm.”

  It takes me a minute, but it finally sinks in.

  “Presley, are you a virgin?”

  She nods and attempts to bury her face against my arm.

  “Jesus. I’m glad I stopped us then. I’m sorry. I had no idea, I mean, I’m sure you’ve told me, but shit. The back of a truck on prom night, I don’t think it could get any more cliché.”

  She giggled, “Motel 6 on prom night.”

  Touché baby girl. “Pres, you know I wanted to, right?”

  “Robert, I still think you want to.” Her eyes wander low to the erection currently pressed against her stomach. “But I know the time’s not right.”

  I dip my head down to her, three smacking kisses are given and eagerly accepted. I roll back to my spot, and she rests her head on the crook of my shoulder. My fingertips trail up and down her spine as she continues to fill me in on special moments between the two of us.

  We talk and laugh throughout the night, interrupted by the occasional make-out session here and there, and though I still don’t remember anything, this feels right. I trust her.

  As the sun begins to peek over the horizon, I know I need to get her home. Hopefully, she won't be in too much trouble, but I’m willing to do whatever I need to apologize for keeping her out all night.

  At some point in the quiet of the morning, she’s fallen asleep. Her body twitches every so often, and as I push back a few strands of hair that have fallen over her face, I place feathered kisses across her forehead.

  “It’s time to wake up, beautiful.”

  Her brows furrow as her lips curve downward.

  “I know, but I need to get you home to your mom. I’m almost positive Mr. Keller will be hunting me if you’re not home soon.”

  She squeezes my waist tighter and closes her eyes against the morning rays.

  “You promise you won't disappear?”

  I chuckle, “I promise. I’m here, Presley. I’m not leaving.”

  Despite my best efforts, the instant she tilts her head up to me, I’m gone. My lips melt into hers, sipping at her until she dips her tongue into me, each stroke is slow and languid until we’re fused together. Blissfully she pulls back, nestling into the safety of my arms.

  “You ready for this?” I ask.

  “To break our bubble. No. To move forward with you? Yes.”

  I peck her once more before helping her out the truck bed and into the cab. I toss everything into the backseat before climbing in and driving back to the house. When we pull up, I see three extra vehicles that shouldn’t be here, Mom’s, Trey’s, and Marcus’s. Presley’s face falls, I can already see the guilt she’s carrying from making her mother worry.

  “Look at me,” I say forcefully.

  She looks deep into my eyes as I intertwine our fingers and bring her hand up to my lips, kissing it and holding tightly to her.

  “We did nothing wrong. We needed last night.”

  She nods and gets out of the truck. The closing of the truck doors alerts everyone, of our arrival and Liv is the first one to come tearing through the front door. Her arms flung around Presley as a sigh of relief exudes through her entire body.

  “Jesus Christ, Presley. Where the hell were you two? We were worried sick. After you left we all assumed you went home. We came here looking to hang out, but you weren’t here.”

  “Relax Liv, we weren’t far from here. We were on the property, but Robert needed some answers.”

  “And what? Those answers took till seven in the morning? Where was your phone?” She looks at me over Presley’s shoulder, finger-pointing something fierce. “And where the hell was your phone, Mr. I don’t go anywhere without it. Did you even look at it? Probably not. But when you do, you’ll find forty-three missed calls and about a million “Where the hell are you?” text messages.”

  “Sorry, Livie, but I needed some time without distractions. There were things Pres and I needed to discuss.”

  She’s fuming mad, but she isn’t getting any more information from me.

  Our mothers rapidly approached behind Liv, and instinctively, I wrap my arm around her, offering some form of protection from their fury.

  “Presley Donovan! Do you know what time it is? No phone call. No text. I was up all night with worry. It’s not like you, young lady. I know you’re leaving soon, and you can do whatever you want when you’re gone, but until then it’s my roof, my rules.”

  “And you young man, I raised you better. You know if you’re gonna be out late, there better be a text on my phone when I wake up.”

  “I’m sorry to both of you. We should have called, you’re right. Presley was helping me remember my life before my accident. I guess we were so focused on each other we lost track of time.”

  Presley’s buried deep into my side, her heart’s racing against my rib cage as five pairs of eyes sink into us.

  “Wait a minute,” Liv waves her finger between the two of us, a wide grin stretching across her appearance, “What’s goin' on here?”

  She snuggles deeper into me as my grip on her tightens. The same question surged through my mind on the way over to the house. As she eyes me, I know she’s just as confused.

  “We’re taking it slow.”

  “So does this mean Mommy and Daddy are back together?”

  I plant a giant, sloppy, and messy kiss on her lips, her throat, her cheeks, and anywhere else I can easily reach. Presley giggles as she pushes against my advances.

  “We’re a work in progress.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Mom and Diane ended up cooking an entirely too big of a breakfast for all of us since they couldn’t sleep last night. Liv and Trey end up passing out on the couch while Marcus falls asleep in one of the recliners. This was us, our group, and it felt good to feel as if we were back to normal. Both our mothers give us a knowing nod as Robert and I head to my bedroom, a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt are already waiting for him on my bed.

  The underlying sexual tension from last night is overwhelming, my heart pumping loudly against my chest as Robert closes the bedroom door and I turn my back to him. “Will you—umm,” I move my hair off to one shoulder exposing my zipper and I hear him chuckle.

  Heat radiates from his body as he gets closer to me, placing a soft lingering kiss at the bottom of my neck before the sounds of my zipper break the silence. His knuckles brush against my skin, as more and more of my back is exposed to him, his lips following the zipper, each vertebra tingling under his touch while my breath grows shallower with each passing second.

  His hands rest on my waist, his chest pressed against my backside, allowing me to feel his racing heart while his smile is pressed into my exposed neck. He breathes in deeply
against me as we stand there for a moment.

  “You’ve already seen me naked,” I whisper, “take a shower with me.” I turn in his arms, a look of adoration on his face as I push down the straps of my dress and it puddles at my feet, leaving me in only the lingerie he purchased.

  His eyes roam over my body, his hands brush against my sides, over my breast while I unbutton his shirt and slide it off of him. Taking his hand I head to the bathroom and turn on the shower, removing my bra and panties before stepping in, closing my eyes as I allow the hot water to wash over me. The shower door closes, Robert standing behind me, his erection pressed hard against my back as he holds me against him. His hands massaging my breast as he assaults my neck, biting and sucking, mixing pleasure and pain in a perfect rhythm. “I don’t deserve you, Presley,” he says in between kisses.

  “I love you, Robert. I always have. And I always will.”

  He spins me against the tiled wall, with one hand, he pins my arms above my head while the water cascades over us. His lips mold over mine as I release pleasure-filled moans into his mouth with each flick of my nipple as our hips move against one another. My body pleads for more, as he whispers a compromise against my ear before running his hand down my stomach and in between my legs. Using his knee, he opens my legs wider and quickly inserts a single finger between my folds.

  I cry out in extasy while my fingers grip his hand.

  “Shh baby girl,” he says against my ear through a smile, “I’ll give you what you want.” His mouth covers mine and the next time pulls out of me, he rams a second finger in with the first. Hard and fast, he strokes me while his palm rubs against my clit, and I struggle to free my hands from his grip. I want to touch him, wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer to me.

  My body begins to tighten around his fingers as my knees give out, his body pinning me to the wall and he releases my wrist. His hand drops down to my thigh, raising it against his waist to move deeper in me as I wrap my arm tightly around his neck. His tongue mimics the movement of his fingers while I grip his cock and follow his pace.

  “I’m coming. Dear God, I’m coming.” I close my eyes against the explosion coursing through my body, warm jets hit my stomach as he throbs against me. Neither of us move as we ride each pulsing wave of pleasure until all that’s left is a semi-warm stream of water and perfectly sated smiles on both our faces.

  “You are a noisy little thing, aren’t you?” He chuckles while squirting a glob of body wash into his hand and placing me back under the water to warm up. Moving quickly, he covers me in bubbles before helping me to rinse off and steps out of the shower. “I’ll be waiting for you,” he says before leaving me with a smacking kiss while I finish with the shampoo and conditioner.

  When I make my way back into the bedroom, our clothes are hanging over a chair and he is laying on top of the comforter, forgoing the T-shirt and shorts, opting only for black boxer briefs.

  Liv’s soft pashmina sweater brushes against my skin and a pair of boy short panties adorn my bottom as I lean against the door frame completely spent and perfectly happy.

  A wicked, devilish smile spreads over Robert’s face when he sees me, his outstretched hand beckons me over to him. I take his hand in mine and he settles me on top of him.

  My center pulses once again at his touch, both of us fighting temptation as my hands run over his stomach and across his chest. His hands grip my hips as he slowly rocks me back and forth over his cock, my head falling back as I focus on him and the way he makes me feel.

  How is it possible to be turned on again so soon. The fabric between us magnifies each tantalizing stroke, building my desire to feel him buried inside of me. God, he feels amazing, thick and long. I bite my bottom lip in attempts to keep quiet once again.

  “Something tells me you’re not quiet in bed,” Robert’s voice is perfectly clear as the memory of our first heated encounter plays through my mind.

  I chuckle thinking about that night, shaking my head at the memory of us. I smile and yet feel guilty that I have a memory Robert doesn’t.

  “What’s got you all smiley all of a sudden?” He looks up at me with expectant eyes, but all I can think about is how I don’t want to hurt him.

  “Just a memory,” I say as I stop grinding against him, folding over to rest on his chest, my arms sliding up around his shoulders as he rubs my back in long, slow movements.

  “You don’t have to feel bad about those, Pres. Will you share it with me?”

  I take a deep breath. “The four of us, you and me, Trey and Liv, went dog sledding; it was our first actual date. That night, you came into my room, and we started fooling around. You made a comment about me being loud in bed. I was thinking about how far we could go if I was able to stay quiet enough.”

  He’s quiet as he smooths my hair against my back before placing a kiss against my head. “I like that memory.”

  “You do?”

  “Pres, I’m not gonna get upset if a memory pops in your head; just share them with me. I may not remember it, but I can envision myself saying that. I can picture a moment like this, and if it brings you happiness, then it makes me happy. There’s no reason you should feel bad about reliving stuff we went through.”

  “Then, I’ll share all my memories with you.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “And for the record, we wouldn’t have gone far, your whimpers just now were already starting to get a little loud.”

  I pop my head up in shock, “They were not!”

  “Oh. But they were, and they were beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed tasting them. One day it will happen for us, but for now, I think this is as good as it’s gonna get.”

  He places a series of smacking kisses against my lips, and I soon slide off of him and nestle in against his side, falling asleep as he pulls a blanket over us.

  “Good night, Robert.”

  “Good night, princess.”

  *****

  I’m awoken by the chirping of my text message notification. Nothing important, just Trey letting me know they’re leaving and a reminder that we have the Alumni Baseball game coming up this week.

  Presley’s body twitches against mine, our legs intertwined as I wonder what she’s dreaming about. I take a picture of the two of us and set it as my home screen. I don’t know if it was because my mind was clouded with Heather, or if I wasn’t ready to face the truth, but if Presley and I dated, and we were in fact as close as I was told, then I could read our entire relationship through our text messages. I knew I had to try to remember us for her. I didn’t want to be the reason she felt bad while remembering something good or funny between the two of us.

  I scroll through my messages, find her name and start at the very beginning, the night she texted me a thank you for the ride home and for being her tutor. Page after page I watch us evolve, candid photos we took, what I’m sure are inside jokes, the first I love yous, plans for our future, words of encouragement and moments she was proud of me, and our last text message.

  “I am so proud of the man you have become. I know you never planned on becoming a professional pitcher, and it’s gonna take some time, but I can't wait to see what’s in store for our future. Rain or shine, you’ll always be mine. You’re gonna do great tonight. I’ll see you afterward. All my love, xoxo”

  I read and reread the message a dozen times. Each time becoming more and more choked up. She never left, even when she could have, she was patient throughout everything, just waiting on me to come to her.

  I can see how bad I hurt her by spending time with Heather, and yet here she was, snuggled up next to me, holding me as if I were her world. Her last words to me before falling asleep were, “I love you.” Even through everything I put her through, she still loved me and she was still going to Arizona just to be close to me. She had no way of knowing when I would come to her, but she never stopped putting me first. I had to remember our time together, not for me, but for her.

  -----

 
; The next four weeks blew by in a cloud of dust. The baseball team went on to win state. Presley and Liv were at every game with Marcus, and it seemed as though their relationship was getting better.

  Mom found a psychologist that specialized in experimental amnesia therapy, and I was slowly gaining a few of my memories back. I didn’t say anything to Presley because I didn’t want to get her hopes up, but some memories were beginning to stick out for me. My favorite at the moment was our first kiss, the day she found out that I was actually Robert. Once I had that memory back, the others slowly started filling in.

  Presley had been busy working on her valedictorian speech for the last week; so it allowed Mom, Tina, and I a chance to finalize everything for her graduation surprise. She had given me so much the last few months I knew I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure her dad saw her walk across the stage for graduation.

  Mom and Tina were on the phone every day, checking on his progress and pushing for an early release, Tina called last night saying she was on her way to pick Mr. D up from the airport. He was staying with us for the night, and she would pick him up on the way to the graduation ceremony while I picked Presley up for graduation.

  Coach found out earlier in the week that I needed to be in Arizona the week after graduation. I had asked Presley multiple times to come with me, but she isn’t ready to make that commitment just yet.

  When I pull up to the ranch, she’s waiting outside for me, notecards in hand as she reviews her speech over and over. It reminds me of her first test after I became her tutor; she spent the entire lunch period going over her flashcards, shuffling them this way and that until I gripped her knee and reassured her that everything would be okay.

  I don’t even try to speak to her on the drive to graduation, she’s so focused on being perfect right now. I can't believe the amount of stress she puts herself through. I insert my hand in between her flashcards and intertwine our fingers, pulling her from her concentration as we pull up to the high school auditorium.