The Crush

by Ward , Penelope

  “Keep doing that and I’m gonna come in your hand and not in your beautiful pussy. Fucking put me inside of you, Farrah, before I explode.”

  I didn’t know whether to prolong his agony or give in to my own need. Ultimately, I couldn’t wait any longer. I rubbed his tip over my opening a few more times and pushed his cock inside.

  A long groan escaped him as he sank into me. “Oh…fuck…”

  I closed my eyes at the intensity. “Jesus Christ, Jace.”

  “Don’t fucking move or I’m gonna come. I swear, I’ve never felt like this before.” He shut his eyes tightly for a moment. He exhaled and began to move slowly in and out of me.

  The fact that he seemed to be struggling for control made me almost want him to lose it. But I also wanted to stretch this for as long as possible.

  We got into a groove as he began to fuck me in a rhythm that matched the eager thrusts of my hips. He couldn’t have been any deeper inside of me.

  “You’re the first guy to do this to me without a condom, and you’re gonna be the first to come inside of me.”

  “I can’t wait,” he rasped.

  He moved faster, pummeling me so hard that my head banged against the back of the bed. Not sure how I’d explain to Nathan if a hole suddenly appeared on the wall.

  My hands gripped his ass, my nails digging into his skin.

  “Fuck me harder, Jace. Destroy me,” I panted.

  He thrust harder and laughed a little. “Watch your language, Farrah, or I’m gonna come.”

  “Good.”

  He sped up his movements, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My clit began to pulsate as I lost control over my body. My voice echoed through the house as my orgasm tore through me. It was, bar none, the most intense feeling I’d ever had.

  As soon as I reached my climax, Jace’s body shook as he came. He let out a loud, unintelligible sound as I lifted my hips to meet each and every last one of his thrusts.

  His body trembled as he came down from his orgasm. My clit still throbbing, I could have easily gone for a second round, and it had only been a minute since I came.

  I pushed his body deeper into me, wanting each and every ounce of his cum inside of me, never wanting to move from this spot.

  “That was…everything.” I exhaled.

  Jace continued to breathe erratically. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to walk away from you.”

  That filled me with immense hope, but I warned myself not to take anything said immediately after sex seriously.

  “No matter what happens, I will never regret this, Jace.”

  He wrapped his hands around my face. “Neither will I, beautiful.”

  My heart clenched.

  He held me for several minutes as the morning sun shone through the window.

  Eventually, Jace got up and threw his pants on. He smiled. “Come have some breakfast when you’re ready.”

  This felt like a dream.

  After I cleaned myself up and put on a dress, I met him out in the kitchen. His gorgeous, carved back faced me as he stood at the stove frying eggs. I took a deep whiff of the buttery smell.

  I couldn’t help wrapping my arms around him while he cooked. A heavy wave of reality hit me in that moment. A month? A month and I was supposed to give him up? That was unfathomable. Now I felt more connected to him than ever. I could never sit back and watch him with another woman again.

  “I lied…” I blurted. “I don’t think I can do this. I can’t just end things after a month with you. You’re gonna break my heart.”

  His body stiffened before he turned around. “I don’t want to break your heart, baby.” He put the spatula down. “You’re not the only one who’s messed up right now.”

  He lifted me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around him and felt desperate to feel him inside of me again.

  The sizzling eggs were about to burn.

  “Can we forget about breakfast?” I spoke over his mouth.

  He grunted and turned to shut off the heat. Jace pushed his pants lower while still managing to carry me. The next thing I knew, I felt his hot, wet cock at the tip of my already-soaked underwear. He moved my panties to the side and entered me in one hard thrust. Jace groaned as he jerked his hips and began to fuck me standing. It felt even better than the first time. As I raked my fingers through his hair, I savored the taste of his mouth, his breath, unable to get enough of him.

  It was a wonder I didn’t fall, given how hard he was thrusting into me while holding me at the same time. My nails dug into his back as I clung for dear life. The level of penetration this time was even more intense.

  Unexpectedly, I climaxed, my muscles contracting around him. Looking deeply into his eyes, ripples of pleasure coursed through me. Midway through my orgasm, his body shook as he lost control. I decided there was nothing sexier than looking into a guy’s eyes while he came inside of you. Nothing compared.

  “You’re gonna be the death of me.” He buried his face in my neck and laughed. “But I can’t think of a better way to die.”

  Jace gave me a long kiss before he put me down.

  I escaped to the bathroom, and when I returned to the kitchen, he was back at the stove, remaking the eggs.

  The sight of a shirtless Jace cooking me breakfast gave me goose bumps. The coffee brewing smelled almost as good as him—almost.

  “Hope you’re hungry…for food.” He winked.

  “After the workout you gave me this morning, I’m starving.”

  He served us eggs and toast. We ate in comfortable silence at the table, demolishing the food in no time.

  “Do you have to go to work?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately, I do…at least for a little while. But why don’t I meet you back here around four. That will give us some more time together before Nathan gets home.”

  Nathan had been working at the dealership most days until six.

  “I would love that.”

  “If I can get here earlier, I will.”

  He took my plate and his over to the sink. I grabbed the mugs and placed them in the dishwasher.

  When I turned to him, I caught him looking at me. “What?”

  He moved a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You’re so beautiful, you know that? I don’t even know how I’m supposed to keep my hands off you when he comes home later.”

  “Well, then we have to find someplace else to go. I don’t care where it is, as long as I can be with you.”

  Jace looked a little lost for a moment, and then he kissed me on the forehead. “I want you to know that I don’t take lightly what you gave me today. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been with anyone. I also know you trust me, and I won’t take that for granted. This isn’t just about sex for me, as much as I might have implied it when I suggested we…get this out of our system. My feelings for you go way beyond just the physical. I trust you, too. And I fully respect you. I haven’t had that feeling with a woman in a long-ass time. Today meant a lot to me.”

  My heart pitter-pattered. As much as I’d enjoyed the sex, I needed to hear that. “I appreciate that, though I’m still not quite sure what the hell I’m supposed to do when our month is up.”

  “Let’s try not to think about that right now.” Jace lifted me in the air for a last kiss. Putting me down, he said, “Be here waiting for me at four, okay?”

  “Of course.”

  He disappeared into his room to get dressed, and when he returned, he gave me a peck on the lips. “See you soon.”

  Watching from the window as he got in his truck, I let out an audible sigh.

  I spent the rest of the day cleaning the house like a madwoman. I hadn’t had a day off in the middle of the week in a long time, so I took advantage and gave our place the deep cleaning I’d been meaning to for some time. There was no better way to make use of the nervous energy running through my body.

  When 3PM rolled around, I could hardly wait for Jace to get back. I decided to kill the last hour by heading ov
er to Nora’s to check on her. Better yet, I decided to finally give her the Shawn Mendes tickets I’d been holding. After the euphoric morning I’d had, I felt like celebrating, eager to bring someone else the kind of joy I was experiencing.

  I used my key to enter her house, then knocked as I always did on the inside of the door.

  “Yoo-hoo! It’s Farrah!”

  It was quiet, and I wondered if perhaps she wasn’t home, although that wouldn’t have been good, since her mother always instructed her to come straight here after school.

  Nora finally emerged from her bedroom. She looked a bit sullen.

  “What’s up?” I asked. “Is something wrong?” When she didn’t immediately say anything, I pried. “Did something happen?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “You look sad.”

  Nora hesitated. “I saw something today, and I’m afraid to tell you what it is. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

  My pulse raced. “Okay…um…well, don’t be. I can handle whatever it is you saw.”

  “I saw you and Jace.”

  Oh.

  It hit me.

  Oh no.

  What?

  I gulped. “Uh…me and Jace. You mean…what…what do you think you saw?”

  “I had a fever this morning, so my mom let me stay home sick. We ran out of stuff to put on the pita bread. I saw your car, but I wasn’t sure if you were home or if the car was just broken down. So, I went to my yard and peeked through the screen thingy by the pool. I could see you and Jace in the kitchen through the glass door.”

  Shit.

  I no longer had to wonder what it was she’d witnessed. I was absolutely mortified. “I’m sorry you saw us. I wish you hadn’t peeked into the house, but it’s not your fault.” I finally looked up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “I know what it was. I ran into my mom and her ex-boyfriend once.”

  “Obviously I didn’t know you were home at that time of day. I didn’t even think you could see that clearly into my house. I’m sorry.”

  “I thought maybe you would be mad at me.”

  “No, of course not. You were looking for me. You didn’t expect to see anything.”

  “Is he your boyfriend now?”

  “We’re…spending time together. My brother doesn’t know, and it’s important that it stays that way. I’ll make sure to be more careful. Thank you for teaching me an important lesson today.”

  Several seconds of awkward silence ensued, and I wondered if perhaps this was no longer the best time to whip out the tickets.

  I might’ve scarred you for life, but here are Shawn Mendes tickets to make up for it?

  Ultimately, I decided the change of subject would be a good thing to take the attention off one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

  I took a deep breath in. “You know what would be great?”

  “What?”

  “For us to both forget about that thing you saw and focus on something that’s definitely for you to see.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have a surprise.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. It’s why I came by. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give it to you.” I reached into my pocket and grabbed the envelope.

  Nora took it from me. “What is it?”

  Rubbing my hands together, I smiled. “Go ahead and find out.”

  She opened it, lifting the tickets out, and when the words seemed to register, her eyes widened.

  Then she started trembling. “Is this really happening?”

  “It is.” I bit my lip. “You’re going to see him.”

  “Shawn tickets?” she cried. “How? When?”

  “I have a friend at the ticket office,” I said proudly.

  Nora burst into tears before wrapping her arms around me. This distraction had indeed helped alter the mood, thank God.

  “Oh my God!” She kept jumping up and down. “I just can’t believe it! I’m going to be in the same room as him!”

  “You think your mom will let you go, right?”

  “She has to. I’ll die if she doesn’t.”

  “I’m sure she’ll want to take you, but if for some reason she doesn’t, I’d be happy to.”

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Farrah! This is the best thing that ever happened to me in my entire life!”

  It felt amazing to make her so happy. I could certainly relate to that feeling of giddiness after my morning with Jace—getting something you always wanted but never thought you would have. I was still in a state of euphoria, even if realizing that Nora had seen us put a damper on things.

  “Put them in a safe place, okay? Make sure you let me know what your mom says, and if she wants me to take you.”

  “Okay!”

  Grateful that the tickets had taken the tension in the air away, I hung out at Nora’s for about twenty more minutes before heading back to my place.

  Jace pulled in at four on the dot. Excitement ran through me as I watched him exit the truck. We’d only have a couple of hours in the house together before Nathan came home, but I planned to cherish every second. First, though, I’d have to tell him about Nora.

  Before I could get the words out, he walked through the door and came straight at me, enveloping my mouth in his as if he’d been dying to kiss me all day. His heart thundered against mine, the intensity of those beats giving me hope.

  I nearly lost my train of thought, but as good as the kiss felt, I needed to talk to him about what happened with Nora. Reluctantly, I pushed back. “I have to tell you something, and you’re not gonna like it.”

  A look of alarm crossed his face. “What’s wrong?”

  “The girl next door, Nora, she saw us earlier…when we were in the kitchen.”

  His eyes widened. “She saw us…having sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “What? How the fuck did that happen?”

  “She was home sick from school today. She saw my car and figured maybe I was home. She peeked through the pool area and could see right into the kitchen through the sliding glass door apparently.”

  He closed his eyes. “Fuck.” Shaking his head, he said, “That’s not good. It’s the first day we’ve snuck around, and someone already caught us?”

  “I know.”

  He bit his lip. “Can you trust this girl not to say anything?”

  “She won’t. Don’t ask me how I trust an eleven-year-old…but I do.”

  “You’d better be right.” Jace scrubbed his hand over his face. “Well, this is a fucking wake-up call. Did we mess her up?”

  “I hope not. She claims she’d walked in on her mother and an ex-boyfriend once, but obviously that’s not the right way for a kid to learn about sex.”

  “I can’t believe I wasn’t more careful—taking you like that in the middle of the kitchen in broad daylight. What the fuck is wrong with me?” He held out his palm. “Wait, don’t answer that. I’ve been letting my dick make all the decisions lately.”

  “I can relate. I couldn’t wait for you to get home. It’s why I went next door. I was feeling so damn restless.”

  “I thought about you all freaking day. I practically got into an accident driving so damn fast to get back here.” He exhaled. “Did you eat lunch?”

  “No. I’ve been too wired to eat.”

  “Me too. Why don’t I make us something?”

  If he was hungrier for food than he was for me, Jace clearly wasn’t in the mood to have sex. Now that I’d unloaded the news about Nora seeing us, I couldn’t say I felt any differently.

  We ended up making sandwiches and taking them out into the living room. After we ate, Jace held me on the couch for a while as we watched TV. Even though he was silent, I could somehow feel the thoughts floating around in his head. He was worried—worried about his decisions, worried we were going to get caught. We had a clear view to the front of the house from the living room window, in
case Nathan were to walk in early.

  I looked at the clock. “Nathan should be home in a half hour.”

  As much as I knew it was risky, I’d still sort of hoped Jace would initiate sex. But he never did. The closer it got to the time that Nathan normally returned, the more of a smart decision that became.

  When my brother’s car finally pulled in, Jace got up from the couch like a bat out of hell. I had to laugh at how swiftly he disappeared to the opposite side of the house. Was this how it would always be when Nathan came home now? Jace and I would act like a couple of scrambling birds?

  “Hey…” my brother said as he entered, throwing his keys on the small table near the front door.

  I stretched as I stood up from the sofa. “Hey! How was your day?”

  “Good. Sold another car.”

  “Oh my God. Really? That’s freaking awesome!”

  “I know. I’ve been on a roll.”

  “What happened with you today?” he asked.

  That was kind of a weird way to phrase the question. Riddled with guilt, I said, “Nothing much. Work was boring.”

  He drew his brows together. “No, it wasn’t.”

  I thought I might pee my pants. “Hmm?”

  “You weren’t at work today.”

  My stomach sank. “What are you talking about?”

  “I hit the drugstore on the way home and ran into that chick you work with. Denise, I think her name is? She said you were out sick and asked if you were okay.”

  My heart hammered in my chest.

  “Oh.” I looked down at my shoes, feeling so freaking guilty for lying. And he didn’t even know the half of it.

  “Why did you lie to me?”

  My brain scrambled for an answer. “I…took a mental health day.”

  “Is this about that guy? Did he do something?”

  Blinking, I had to think for a moment. “Colton? No. We’re not seeing each other anymore, but that was my choice. This has nothing to do with him. I just needed a break today and didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think badly of me for lying to my boss.”

  His expression softened. “You know I wouldn’t think that. Is everything okay? You struggling or something?”