Gag.
Averting my eyes, I went to put the mail on the stack—that she hadn’t looked at. At least not based on the height of it.
Fuck.
I flipped through the mail real fast, because if we missed something, it would suck if something got shut off. Without a doubt, it would be my fault. I pulled out five envelopes that had no return addresses or any sign of what they were.
I left everything I recognized or at least knew was not an issue. Then I got the hell out of her room. The longer I was in there the more it smelled a little musky, a little like foreign cologne, and a lot like sex.
Things I did not need nor want to imagine.
Shoving the mail in my backpack, I added the letters for me. I didn’t have time to look at them now. Archie would be here any minute, which meant Coop should be knocking…
The rap on the backdoor made me laugh.
“Right now,” I murmured to myself before slinging the backpack over my shoulder and heading for the door. Bracing for it, I opened the door and grinned.
Coop wore the biggest smile, and he had a hand resting on each side of the doorframe. “No escaping the good morning kiss for you,” he intoned in the most comical voice.
A giggle eddied up, and I clasped my hands to my chest as I retreated a step. “Oh no, whatever shall I do?”
Waggling his eyebrows, Coop stalked inside—still grinning like a loon, mind you—and continued in his horrible accent, “Surrender, and I’ll go easy on you.”
The snort escaped before I could stop it. “Eep.” I waved my hands like I had no idea what to do, and Coop shoved the door closed right before he tugged me forward by the backpack strap. He slid it right off and then kissed me as I opened my mouth to protest.
Well, playfully protest anyway. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I fought the smile, even as he locked his lips on mine. It was hard not to laugh as everything in me tingled. He locked his arms around me in a firm grip. Guess I won out over the backpack. Not that I was complaining as he licked against my tongue and slid his hands down to cup my ass.
The first hard suck against my tongue had me sighing. Coop tasted a little bit like a strawberry smoothie that he’d probably had for breakfast. He smelled freshly showered, and he was hot everywhere. When he nipped at my lower lip, tugging on it gently before he lifted his head, I shuddered.
“I surrender,” I whispered, and his eyes lit up. The soft gray-green of them reminded me of a stormy sky in spring, when the tornado sirens could blare up at any moment. “What will you do with me?”
“I think I’m going to kiss you again,” he whispered. “Just to be certain.”
My heart did a little twist as he made good on his words. This kiss was much slower, far more nuzzling, and had my toes curling as I slid a hand onto his hair. The soft curls slid through my fingers, and my pulse rabbited. The languid heat exploded into a conflagration, and I was burning up.
He gripped my ass as he lifted me, pressing me right up against the fridge. It was like he loved pushing me against things, and the bump of his hips to mine had me groaning.
Panting when he let up this time, I licked my lips. “Good morning.” The words came out far shakier than I wished, but Coop’s pupils were huge, and his chest rose and fell with the swift, shallow breaths he released.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered. “How are you?”
“So much better right now.” It was true. The bad night of tossing and turning faded, the frantic thoughts quieted, and the worry diminished. This was Coop, and he always had a knack for making things better.
“Good,” he said, then nipped my lower lip again before laving it to make it better. Who knew having someone else lick my lips would be such a fucking turn-on? The distinct pressure of his erection against me promised I wasn’t the only one getting excited. “I wish it was Thursday.”
“Yeah?” I teased. “What’s so special about Thursday?”
Chuckling, he massaged my ass, and I swore all the heat in my body pooled between my legs. Crap, I was going to have damp panties, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it right this second.
“If it was Thursday, I could keep you right here and kiss you until we both melt. Birthday boy privileges.”
“Ahh,” I said. “I’ve been wondering what you wanted for your birthday.”
“I have everything I want right here,” he said, then he gave me another soft kiss before easing his grip and taking a deep breath. “And I really don’t want to let you go, but I have a surprise I want to share with you.”
“You mean that good morning kiss wasn’t a surprise?”
Waggling his eyebrows, Coop asked, “Were you surprised?”
I tilted my head, trying to tamp down the very real lust surging in my veins. The little voice in the back of my head that whispered it wouldn’t be so bad to skip school for once was gaining volume.
“No,” I said softly. “I pretty much knew you were going to start my day off beautifully.”
The red flushing his cheeks charmed me. I slid my hands down to rest against his chest.
“You do make things better for me. Even when I’m not looking for it or expecting it.”
“Glad to hear it,” he whispered. Then he brushed some my hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “I’m crazy about you, Frankie.”
Excitement and trepidation did a mad dance through my system. Too much. The intensity in his eyes, the fact he was still holding me, and my body’s exceptionally visceral and vocal response to him held me hostage. Too much. “You could have stopped at I’m crazy,” I teased.
Coop laughed. “You’re right,” he teased. “While it might be true,” he continued, moving his hands to my hips. Then he lifted a hand to trace his finger against my lips where I caught it lightly in my teeth, and his pupils flared. It was impossible not to stare at him. “I adore you.”
The soft declaration bowled me over, even if I’d always known Coop cared. Coop, who always put an arm around me. Who curled up with me for years, whether I was reading or we were watching movies. Coop, who always seemed to know when I needed a pick me up or just needed someone to sit there and say it would be all right.
“Then I’m a really lucky girl,” I admitted. “Because you’re pretty cool yourself, Coop Brennen.”
One more kiss, and he pulled away entirely with a groan. “Okay, beautiful, out the door before I abandon my surprise and work on convincing you that today is our senior skip day.”
Oh, he wouldn’t have to work hard at that, but I bit those words back before they could break free. He snagged my backpack and opened the door. When I went for the trash sack, he nudged me over and took that too.
“I can carry stuff,” I told him.
“Absolutely, and when I’m not here, I know you exercise it constantly. But I am here, and I want to do this for you.”
“Fine,” I said with a flounce, and that pulled another laugh from him. I locked up and then followed him out to the parking lot. There was no sign of Archie yet, and I glanced at my watch. That was weird. He was usually here by now.
Coop tossed the bag in the dumpster, then headed toward me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “So,” he said. “About that surprise.”
He guided me over to a car—a Lexus—parked next to mine.
“Surprise.”
I stared at it for a beat, then at Coop as he held up a set of keys and hit the auto unlock.
“You got a car?”
He grinned. “I got a car.”
Mind. Blown.
I threw myself at him and gave him a hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you! Oh my god, Coop. It’s a Lexus. Did your dad finally stop acting like a horse’s ass and do something cool for you?”
“Nope,” he said, still beaming. “Archie did. The guy is a rock star, Frankie, and he got me a car so I’d have wheels to take you out.”
If I’d thought my mind had been blown before, I was stunned now.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
<
br /> Archie got him a car?
That was…awesome. It went above and beyond in the realm of friendship.
“I’m really hoping you don’t mind, but I want to take you to school for a change,” Coop continued. “My girl should be the first passenger in this car.”
His girl.
I bit my lip.
“I would love to be the first passenger in your car,” I said, and I wasn’t sure what thrilled me more—how happy Coop was to have a car, or the fact that Archie had done something so damn nice for his friend.
That settled it.
All five of us were talking.
I wasn’t going to destroy this friendship between all of us.
Not ever.
Chapter Eight
The Way We Used To Be
Ian
The five a.m. alarm went off, but it didn’t jerk me awake. Hard to wake someone up if they aren’t asleep. Fuck, I was tired. Rolling over, I hit the floor and started the morning routine. Whether we were in training or not, everyday—well, most days—I did one hundred push-ups followed by one hundred sit-ups.
On mornings I didn’t have to be at practice early, I ran. Today, I had practice. We had to get these plays right, or we weren’t going to take that game on Friday. Losing Jake from the line-up hurt more than anyone wanted to admit.
Or maybe it was just getting on my nerves. I totally get why he beat jackass’s face in, but he led with his fists and his heart. We were just lucky he wasn’t out for the rest of the season. Every pump of my arms didn’t help my wrestling with that fact, because I really did get it. I even respected why he’d done it.
The shit Frankie had been taking was unreal. Part of the reason I wanted to take a step back. But I wanted all of us to do it. They weren’t listening. We’d gone from all of us dating her to two of us already having sex with her, and I hadn’t missed the looks on Coop’s face. He bided his time.
Then what? We made it even worse for her because sex muddied the waters.
After I hit a hundred push-ups and no answers, I rolled onto my back and began the sit-ups. I hated the fact she was hurting. I hated even more that I seemed to be the one hurting her.
The words from her text message the night before had been permanently etched into my brain. I really like you, Ian. I hate the idea that you don’t trust me to decide what I want. Or who I want.
She wasn’t the problem. I got it. She liked all of us. Did I particularly like the fact that Archie nailed her as fast as humanly possible?
No.
Did I like that Jake was all over her and had spent the night with her first? No. Not even close.
Coop wasn’t much better. The day he told her he was in, he’d also said the same thing to me.
“You don’t get it.” Coop told me. “It’s been me and Frankie since before kindergarten. No way in hell am I not throwing my hat in the ring.”
“You don’t think that’s not going to confuse her more?” I’d asked her out first. They hadn’t until I did. But I asked her first. They weren’t slowing down. And it was turning into this game of one-upmanship even if they claimed it wasn’t.
“Nope,” Coop said. “She thought no one was interested. I trust you guys with her. But I’m not stepping aside.”
Maybe that was the problem. I panted, trying to catch my breath after that last sit-up. Forearms on my knees, I stared at one of the four photos in my room. It was all five of us from the summer between sophomore and junior years. We’d all started dating that year. But it was still the five of us for everything.
Even for our dates. We’d bring girls with us, but we always made sure Frankie was there because Frankie was one of us.
That was the last time I remember when we were all just us. Archie went through girls like they were tissue paper. At one point, he’d had a thing for girls that started with the letter M. He always swore it wasn’t on purpose, but Frankie was the only one who kept track of them.
I swore, I called Melissa ‘Michelle’ like fifteen times before she demanded to know who that was. Unfortunately, she was the girl who landed between Michelle with two Ls and Michele with one.
Jake was almost as bad, but he didn’t date anyone long-term. Archie managed a week. Two weeks was his max before junior year, and even then…they didn’t last much longer. Jake was more first and second date then he was done. The chances of a third date were virtually nil.
One could argue that was all of us.
Dragging myself up, I hit the shower. I needed to move my ass.
Coop was the only one who got into relationships, and that guy couldn’t seem to help himself. He was so fucking thoughtful, girls wanted to confide in him. Then he’d be stuck. Right up until he was done, and then he just ended it as abruptly as it began. Frankie though? They were thick as thieves, they always had been. At least ‘til last summer.
A laugh broke out of me as I ducked my head under the water. It was still a little on the coolish side, and it helped with the morning wood that showed up every time even the vaguest thought of Frankie crossed my mind.
Not that it diminished much of the need. The day she’d straddled my legs in the pool and then brushed her lips against mine, I’d gone instantly hard. The kiss that followed cemented it.
I seemed to be living in a permanent state of need.
Not that the shower was doing a damn thing about it. A flash of Frankie’s green eyes as she’d laughed the night before danced across my mind, even as the feeling of her arms wrapping around me from behind sent another bolt of lust right to my balls.
Right hand on my erection, I braced my left against the wall and focused on what it felt like to kiss her and how it felt like when she held onto me. She always smelled so great—even when she complained about smelling like hamburgers after work. Frankie always smelled like Frankie.
It was hardly my first time jerking off in the shower, and definitely not the first time I jerked off to the thought of her. The first slow stroke of my hand from base to tip sent a very pleasant tingling through my balls and up my spine. Eyes closed, all I had to do was imagine pressing my lips to her throat as I stroked slowly. It took very little to stiffen to the point of painful. Wanting her? No, that had never been a problem.
The first time I jacked off, I’d been thinking about Frankie. Well, her breasts specifically. We’d all been wrestling, and she’d ended up smashed against me, and I had a handful of boob. It didn’t hit me until later just how soft and fucking fabulous that had been.
If all I wanted was a pure physical relationship? I’d probably be just like Archie and Jake. But I wanted more than that. Frankie saw me—she saw me when no one else did. Not even the guys. She never forgot the music.
The rasp of her voice when she said my name lit me up. I’d been Bubba to all of them forever. The only other people who called me Ian were my parents. But when Frankie said it? Fuck, that had felt good. The way she’d bite her lower lip when she concentrated on something always pulled me. There was an effortlessness to being around her that I craved.
We didn’t have to be anyone other than ourselves.
Or we used to only have to be us.
Somewhere…that changed.
Pushing my cock through the damp cradle of my palm, I wished like hell it was her. The image of her sprawled on my bed, naked and sweet, open and vulnerable, a temptation and revelation in one beautifully strong package had me groaning as my hips jerked with the orgasm I pulled out.
Fuck. I leaned my head against the tile and sighed.
Wanting her was definitely not the problem.
Pushing away, I finished my shower.
Five minutes later, dressed in play gear, hair combed, and my change of clothes stuff stuffed into my duffle, I headed downstairs. I had just enough time for food before I had to leave for school.
“Good morning, Ian,” Dad said from where he waited at the kitchen table.
Crap.
I’d really hoped to avoid this morning’s discussion su
rely generated by Mom asking me last night if Frankie would be coming by today.
“Morning, Dad. Not a lot of time to talk, got to get to practice.” I had been planning cereal. For now, I dropped a Pop-Tart in the toaster. Too much sugar and I’d be regretting it at lunch, but at the moment, I didn’t care.
“I know, but I wanted to remind you about this afternoon.”
Turning, I stared at him. “Dad, Frankie and I are friends.”
“You’re taking her to Homecoming, Ian. That makes you a lot more than friends.”
“Maybe, but right now, we’re just friends. She’s important to me.”
“She’s troubled,” Dad said quietly, folding his hands together. Everything about him was relaxed and solemn. “After last week—the incident with Jake, the bullying…the photographs.”
I made myself not look away. The sheer level of Dad’s disappointment over my presence in those photos had lain like a pall over the house. We hadn’t told Mom. Dad didn’t see the point in upsetting her, and he expected me to do better.
“Dad, she’s Frankie. Is her mom a raging bitch for treating her so badly? Yes.” I didn’t give a damn that he scowled at my language. “But she’s still Frankie.”
“I agree, but that’s the point, Ian. Frankie’s clearly got issues because of her mother’s treatment. Son—abuse comes in a lot of forms. I know you didn’t want to listen to me this weekend, but I took you to that hospital for a reason.”
Yeah. To show me what troubled youth looked like. As if I didn’t know. “I spent the night at her place,” I reminded him. “Me and the other guys. After everything that went down with her mother and Archie’s dad—we didn’t want her to have to be alone. Especially if they showed up there.”
“I understand. I also understand it’s very easy to get swept up in the feelings of needing to save her.”
“We’re friends, I’m going to look out for her. Someone has to…”
My father sighed. “It’s easy to get sucked in and to make their problems yours.”
“Just stop,” I told him, and bit into the first Pop-Tart. As hot as it was, it burned the roof of my mouth, but I didn’t care. “I’m not going to take advantage of her. You made your point about her mother’s emotional unavailability and her need for approval and closeness.”
Keys and Kisses: Untouchable Book Three Page 11