Indulgence (393 page)

“Are you okay with this?” I asked. Even though I’d made a
new resolution to myself to forge ahead in our relationship, I wouldn’t go any
further if Jenna wasn’t on board.

“Yeah, I was just waiting for you to take initiative.”

“Why me, Jenna? What do you see when you look at me?”

Her tongue wet her lips. “I see thick raven hair that looks
so silky I want to run my fingers through it. Your dark hair sets off your blue
eyes. When I look into them, I feel like I’m floating in the South Pacific
Ocean.” Jenna sat up straight and straddled me. “Your shoulders are broad and
strong,” she continued, running her hands over them. “I always wondered what
your muscles looked like under your shirt. You’re always lifting weights with
Rick, so they must be amazing. Why don’t you ever work out shirtless?” she
lamented.

“You’ve watched me work out?”

“Yes. Let me see what’s under that shirt, Jake.”

I took a deep breath and then grabbed the hem of my shirt
and pulled it over my head. Leaning back on my elbows, I watched Jenna’s eyes
devour me like I was a big piece of chocolate cake that left her mouth
watering. She didn’t say a word, just placed her palms over my nipples and then
slowly worked her fingers along my abs. I closed my eyes, falling back onto the
pillow. Her touch was light and delicate, which made me all the more turned on.

“You look hotter than I ever imagined,” Jenna whispered,
leaning in to kiss me.

My hands inched their way under her shirt, feeling the
velvety skin on her back. Then I felt her bra strap, but it was smooth. Where
were the hooks?

Jenna sat up and pulled off her tee shirt. “It hooks in the
front,” she said in this breathy sexy voice. Before I could reply, she unhooked
her bra and threw it on the floor.

My heart quickened staring up at her, topless, gorgeous. She
had small breasts, but they were pert and her dusty pink nipples were erect. I
reached out and touched them. Jenna let out a soft moan.
What do I do next?
My
dick knew what it wanted, but my mind hesitated, afraid I’d fail miserably if I
didn’t make the right move.

“Touch me, Jake,” she pleaded.

“Where do you want me to touch you?”

She took my hand and placed it between her legs. I swallowed
hard as I rubbed her jeans between her thighs. Jenna pushed off me, standing up
to unbutton her jeans. Soon she had peeled them off and was standing in front
of me. The only thing she wore was a pink thong. I told myself to breathe because
if I didn’t remind myself to do this simple act, I would certainly pass out.

The corner of Jenna’s lips curled up and she gazed at me
with such intense eyes I felt like I would self-combust. She lay on the bed
next to me. “I want you to touch me everywhere,” she whispered.

“You’re so sexy, Jenna,” I said as I began to explore her
body with my hands. My fingers trailed down to her naked ass. Then I caressed
her hip and moved to her inner thigh, fingers inching slowly to her sweet spot.
I slipped past the cotton thong and felt the moisture pooling in her sex.
“That’s it, Jake,” she choked out.

I didn’t need any more encouragement. I slipped a finger
inside her and slowly began to work her into a frenzy. Jenna arched her back
and pressed her head onto the pillow. I kept up the pace as my own arousal
grew. My thumb found her tender spot and I began to rub. Soon Jenna was
grabbing onto my waistband and withering below me. “Oh god, Jake,” she said in
staccato. I took her mouth with mine to silence her cries, lest she wake
Granddad from his slumber.

Jenna collapsed on the bed wearing the biggest smile I had
ever seen. I had no idea exactly what move sent her sailing over the edge, but
I was the one who made her feel that way. Lying next to her, I discreetly tried
adjusting my erection.

Jenna propped her head on her hand and looked down at the
bulge in my jeans. “I think I need to take care of that for you.” Soon she was
on her knees, unbuttoning my pants and slipping them over my hips. She caressed
the cotton boxers over my cock. I swallowed hard. Jenna took the elastic of the
boxers and pulled them down. My erection sprang free. Her right hand curled
around me and began to stroke up and down. It felt amazing better than anything
I ever did by myself. If I wanted to last, I had to start thinking about
something else, like an ugly witch with boils. Oh, but Jenna’s hand felt so
good. I couldn’t concentrate on anything except how fucking fantastic it felt.
I balled the bed sheets in my fist as I came in her hand.

I reached for the tissue box on the bedside table and
grabbed one from the box. Then I sat up and gently cleaned Jenna’s hand.
“You’re amazing,” I whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

“I like this taking it slow thing,” Jenna giggled. She
snuggled into my arms and said, “You’re not going to tell Rick, are you?”

“Hell, no! You’re not going to tell Sam, are you?”

“No.” We both started to chuckle at the same time. “You
don’t think I woke your granddad?”

“I’m sure he’s still sound asleep. We’ll sneak downstairs a little
later. I just want to hold you right now.”

I was sitting in Rick’s dorm room waiting for him to finish
the letter he was working on. We were going to head out to grab a pizza and
watch the Sixers' game on TV. Sam was staying in to study.

“Wish me luck,” Rick said, grabbing the white envelope from
his desk.

“For what?” I asked, peering up from my reading.

“I’m sending my letter to declare eligibility for this
year’s NBA Draft.”

“One and done, huh?”

“From your lips to God’s ears.”

“Did you tell Sam yet?”

“Nope. You know how she feels about it. Why get her angry
with me if I don’t even know if I’m eligible yet? That would be the fight to
end all fights. There’s no point bringing it up if there’s only a slim
possibility that it could happen.”

He was right Sam would never go for it. She valued education
above everything. Quitting college to play basketball was something she would
never condone. “But you can dream.”

“I plan to make that dream a reality,” Rick said. “For now
can we keep this on the DL? If I can go pro, I’m taking the opportunity. I want
the money when I’m young to get the most years out of my career. College will
still be there when I retire.”

I had never looked at it that way. You could never be too
old to learn, but a pro basketball player’s shelf life was limited.

Closing my book, I nodded my head in agreement. “Makes
sense.”

“Let’s get out of here, I’m hungry.”

We sat in the sports bar, eating pizza and drinking beer.
The only time Rick and I would have a conversation was during a block of commercials.

“How are things with you and Jenna? You guys have been
dating for long time now.”

“We’ve only been dating for five months,” I corrected. “You
and Sam have been dating for a year and a half.”

“What’s your point?”

“She’s still a virgin, if that’s what you’re trying to find
out.”

“That means you’re still a virgin, too.”

“Ha ha, thanks for reminding me.”

“Hey, do you want to go to a frat party Friday night?”

I was thankful for the change in topic, but the last place I
wanted to be was in a frat house on a Friday night with a group of drunk
idiots. “Are you taking Sam?”

“Of course. She won’t let me go alone.”

“That’s because you drink too much. Someone has to chaperone
you to make sure you don’t get alcohol poisoning.”

“Aw, come on. This is college. We’re supposed to have fun!”

“Yeah, I’d just hate to see you blow your ride and a shot at
the NBA because you did something stupid.”

The game came back on the TV and that was the end of the
conversation.

Sam, Rick and I piled into the car and headed for the party
on Friday night. I was always the designated driver. Good ol’ responsible
Jake,. Yep, that’s me.

The frat house was disgusting: the place reeked of alcohol;
two girls were having sex on the pool table while one guy filmed it on his
phone, and others stood around cheering the girls on; some awful rap music was
playing from the stereo system. I couldn’t make out the words all I could do
was feel the bass vibrate through my feet.

The wild party raged on while I was standing in the corner
with Sam. Rick was off in the kitchen doing shots. “Why don’t we go upstairs
and see if we can find someplace a little quieter to talk?” I shouted over the
loud music.

“I have a better idea. Let’s go outside,” she yelled back.

I nodded my head in agreement and we quickly left the house.
We ended up sitting in my car.

“Listen to that,” Sam whispered.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly.”

“I know you didn’t want to come here tonight. I’m glad you
did.”

“We’re in this together, Jake. We have to watch out for
him.” Sam leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “You are so amazing.”

When she pulled back, I noticed the key necklace peeking out
of her shirt collar. “You’re wearing the necklace I bought you.”

Sam smiled. “I never take it off.”

“Why’s that?”

“It was given to me by someone very special,” she said,
looking me in the eye and holding my gaze.

I didn’t know how to respond. Inside, my heart was bursting
with happiness. If Sam cherished my gift, she also cherished me. I pulled her
into an embrace and whispered in her ear, “You’re the most important person in
the world to me.” My lips curved up in a smile. In that moment of honesty, I
felt my spirit soar.

Sam pulled back, breaking our connection. She caressed the
side of my face with her hand, not saying a word.

Some drunken fool lost his footing while trying to walk on
the sidewalk, and stumbled onto the hood of my car. The moment Sam and I shared
was broken.

“I think it’s time we get out of here. We better go pull
Rick away from the vodka shots. I don’t need him throwing up in the car again,”
I finished in a deadpan voice.

We got out of the car, collected Rick, and drove him back to
the dorm.

Somehow Sam and I managed to drag him up a flight of stairs
and dump him on his bed. “Thanks, Jake. I owe you big time,” Sam said, sitting down
on the desk chair.

“He’d do the same for me,” I reasoned.

“You wouldn’t be stupid enough to get yourself into this
kind of situation.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Sometimes I want to take my crutch and
knock some common sense into him.”

“He has a hard head. He’ll damage your crutch.”

We laughed together while Rick lay passed out on the bed.
“It’s going to be a long night,” I said, taking a seat on top of the desk. “You
staying here?”

Sam nodded. “Yep, have to make sure he doesn’t do something
stupid like choke on his own vomit.”

I sighed. Sam deserved so much better. “That’s love.”

She shrugged. “It must be.”

“Then I’m staying with you. His roommate won’t be back
tonight. I think Rick has a clean set of sheets here somewhere. You can sleep
in the other bed.”

“No, we’ll take turns keeping an eye on him. That way we can
both get some sleep.”

Sam started rummaging through Rick’s dresser drawers,
looking for the sheets. She found a
Playboy
magazine and tossed it in
the trash.

I looked in the trunk at the foot of his bed. Buried under a
few balled up towels, I found the sheets. “Pay dirt,” I announced, pulling the
navy sheets from the bottom. “At least I hope they’re clean.”

“They’re folded. That’s a good sign,” Sam remarked as she
walked over to his roommate’s bed and started stripping the sheets. I hobbled
over and we put the new sheets on the bed together.

Sam slipped off her shoes and got under the sheets. “Are you
sure you don’t want me to stay up with you?” she queried.

“I’m good. Get some sleep.”

“Wake me in a few hours,” she yawned.

“I will. Goodnight, Sam.”

On a warm day in the middle of May, I pulled into the
driveway to find Mr. Welsh sitting on my front porch. He should have been at
work, but he was waiting for me. I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my
stomach. Something was wrong. In my heart, I knew what was happening; I just
didn’t want to face it. I took a deep breath and exited the car. Instead of
rushing to the porch, I walked slowly, like an accused man heading for his
execution.

Mr. Welsh stood up as I approached the front steps. “Hi,
Jake,” he said in a melancholy voice.

“Mr. Welsh, it’s Granddad, isn’t it?”

He sadly nodded his head. “Come next door with me,” he said,
placing his hand on my shoulder and steering me toward his home.

We entered through the kitchen door and found Rick and Jenna
sitting at the table. Mrs. Welsh was busy at the stove, preparing tea. As soon
as I stepped into the kitchen, Mrs. Welsh was hugging me. “Jake, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“Take a seat. We have things to discuss,” Mr. Welsh said,
motioning to the empty seat next to Jenna.

I sat down and Jenna placed her hand on my knee to comfort
me. Instinctively, I placed my hand on top of hers. A steaming cup of hot tea
was placed in front of me. “What happened?” I asked, absentmindedly staring at
the steam wafting off the tea cup.

“When I went over to check on your granddad at lunch time, I
found him in his chair. He died in his sleep,” Mrs. Welsh explained as a single
tear ran down her cheek.

“He didn’t suffer. That’s good,” I said. I was so grateful
he’d died peacefully and didn’t have to endure what my parents went through.

“Jake, your granddad made me executor of his will when you
came to live with him. I’ll help you get through this.”

“I don’t know where to begin,” I admitted.

“He left very specific instructions regarding his funeral
and that he is to be buried with your grandmother. He prepaid for everything so
you wouldn’t be burdened.”