I guess we’re not talking about Kit Kats and Milky Ways anymore. Too bad, because I was definitely getting in the mood for a taste of that sweet caramel.
“No, I remember vividly, thanks,” I say. “Now let’s go.”
When I attempt to grab her hand, she crosses her arms. “Who says I’m coming with you? I can’t afford to take a break. Not with my boss peeking over my shoulder every hour.”
“Tell her I forced you. She’ll forgive me.”
“She knows when I’m lying,” she says, dropping her arms.
With a smirk, I say, “It’s not a lie. I get what I want, and I’m taking you with me now.”
Her eyes widen and a flush appears on her cheeks, and then I grab her hand and pull her along with me.
“You’re really pushy, you know that?” she says.
“I learned from the best,” I muse.
“Hey, I hope you don’t mean me, dude.”
“No comment.” I glance at her, her frown making me smile broadly. I can’t help myself, I just love to see her face, and I know she’ll definitely look at me when I’ve ticked her off. “I’m doing you a favor here.”
“Well, thanks,” she says. “I didn’t ask for one.”
“You don’t have to ask; I know what you need.” I stop walking, and she almost bumps into me, so I catch her in my arms. “You need some dark … hot … oozing …”
“Oh, dear lord …” she mutters.
I lean in closer. “Chocolate.”
For a second, she seems confused and then something else settles on her face. Disappointment. Did she think of something else? She’s not the only one.
My lips automatically curl up to form a smile. “With some whipped cream on top.”
“You make everything sound so dirty,” she says, but I can tell she’s trying to keep the smile off her face.
“That’s because I am a dirty motherfucker,” I muse, licking my lips. “Just the way you like it.”
She rolls her eyes and tries to escape from my grasp, but with my arms wrapped around her, she’s no match for my strength. “How about it, then?”
“First you say coffee, now you say chocolate. You sure change your mind a lot,” she says.
I grab her chin and tilt her face, making her look me in the eyes. Her lips part, and for a second there, I contemplate kissing her and getting all of this tension out of the way. But then she’d be pissed off. Plus, this will be way more fun if she actually begs me to do it.
So I cock my head and come close to her lips, but not close enough for us to kiss. “Anything to get you away from that PC and closer to me.”
“Chris …” She pushes me away slowly, but without force, as if she’s unsure about her own mind.
“What? You can’t be mad at me for trying.”
She sighs. “I’m not; it’s just that … you know we can’t.”
“Can’t what?” I shrug, and then turn around and start walking again.
When she doesn’t come along and just stands there, flabbergasted, I yell, “You coming? Or do you want me to pull out my Milky Way to make you come?”
“Oh, fuck me …” She shakes her head, which makes me laugh.
“I’m first in line!” I say, which makes her so mad that she starts running after me. One of us is always chasing after the other. It never changes, and it never will.
***
Age 16
After rubbing my hands and mentally preparing myself, I jump off the vines and grab onto the ledge of her window. The wood cracks under my weight, but I manage to hold on and drag myself up without it breaking. Sweat stains my shirt, but when I make it inside her room, none of it matters. Especially when I see her standing in her doorway.
“Chris?!”
She drops the brush she was holding. Her brown hair is a bit messy, just the way I like it.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
I crawl through the window and look around before walking toward her. “I came to see you.”
She backs away from me. “You can’t be here, Chris.”
“Don’t worry; your father won’t know I’m here.”
They hate me after hearing everything that happened to Emily at school. They blame me for it, and rightfully so. I was so happy about us that I shared it with the guys, but I never meant for her to be publicly humiliated. That’s the last thing I wanted to happen.
She frowns. “There was a good reason I didn’t invite you to study with me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I really am. I came to make it up to you.” I rummage in my pocket while she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Got it.” I fish out the tiny necklace I bought for her, one with a locket shaped like a heart. I hold it out in front of her and smile. “I know it’s not much, but it reminded me of you.”
She sighs. “Chris, I …”
“Take it.” I grab her hand and push the locket in her palm. “It’s yours.”
“You know I can’t take this.”
“Yes, you can. You don’t have to do anything for me,” I assure her. “Just take it.” I take a step closer, and she doesn’t back away, which is a good sign. “It’s my way to say sorry.”
She looks down at her hand, biting her lip in a way that makes me want to come closer and hug her tight, even though she’ll probably want me to stay away. I can’t help it … I want to be close to her and help her. I never wanted her to feel bad.
“I’m really sorry,” I reiterate.
“You said that already,” she muses.
“Yeah, I know,” I say, muffling an awkward laugh. “But it never hurts to say it again. And again. And again.” I grab her hand and pull her closer toward me. “Until eventually, maybe, you’ll start believing it.”
She cocks her head and sucks on her lip. God, that looks so hot. I shouldn’t be thinking this, but when she does that, I want to smash my lips on hers. It’s probably not what she’s thinking, though.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” I say. And neither can my cock, but I won’t say that out loud. Damn, that one time was not enough. When she blushes, it twitches in my pants. Fuck me, I came here to make things up, but it’s getting really hard to contain myself.
“I …” She bites her lip.
I cup her face and lean my forehead against hers. “Shh … You don’t have to say anything.”
Her lips part and her eyes search mine for something I can’t quite understand, but I feel like she’s looking for the truth. So I do the only thing I know. I kiss her with everything I have.
I press my lips to hers and grab her face with both hands, pulling her closer. My mouth can’t get enough. I can’t even stop to take a breath because I need to have her. Now.
At first, she is hesitant, allowing me to kiss her, but when she wraps her arms around me, the beast inside me takes over. My hands find their way to her waist, and I turn her around and walk her to her bed, all while kissing her. I can’t take my lips off her even if I wanted to. All I want to do is show her how much I need her, how much I want her. How goddamn much I want to fuck her right now.
Oh, fuck me. I’m doing it again. I’m letting my lust take over, but I can’t control it anymore.
We fall onto the bed, tangled in each other, her hand on my chest, my lips on her neck, her legs beneath mine, my hand on her ass. I touch and feel everything I can, wanting as much of her as I can take. My mouth finds its way back to hers, latching on, probing her with my tongue. As my desire takes control, my hand slides across her pants and slips underneath her shirt.
Right at that moment, there’s a knock on the door.
Chapter 13
Chris
Age 17
My lips tear away from hers as both our heads lift to look at the door. Another knock makes me jump up.
“Shit,” I mutter.
That’s when the door opens.
Emily pushes me off her, and I almost roll off the bed, but I manage to catch the sheets just in time to stay on. My face nearly lands on the floor, right next to a stack of books.
“Emily?” It’s her father. “What is the meaning of this?”
Of course, he’s pissed. Who wouldn’t be when the daughter you love has a boy in her bed in the middle of the night without anyone knowing? I guess he’s going to kill me now. Especially considering what I was about to do to his daughter.