Lovely (4 page)

My cock is about to burst through my jeans. “Take off your shorts,” I demand, anxious to see if she’s as damp as I think she might be. That spurs her on, and she licks her lips, all the while staring at me hungrily as she rips them off her body. I reach down to find her panties soaking wet, making me even harder and causing a growl to escape my throat. I practically tear them in my haste to get them off, then pick her up and toss her onto the bed. Her head falls back with a sexy laugh as I quickly shed my jeans and t-shirt. That’s one thing about Shelby; she definitely knows how to turn me on.

She slides herself back on the bed and spreads her legs. “I need you to lick me,” she moans, breathy and desperate.

My tongue travels over every inch of her body. She’s writhing all over the bed, pushing my head further down until I reach her desired location … right between her thighs.

“Please,” she begs, and as soon as the first flick of my tongue reaches her folds, she starts panting and swivels her hips into my mouth.

I slowly use my tongue to torture her clit, sliding it back and forth over her wetness until her breathing becomes intense and I bring her to the orgasm she’s been craving, screaming my name as she comes.

“My God, Ash, that felt amazing,” she gushes. She takes a moment to recover, before pushing me down on the bed and grabbing my cock. “Now my turn.” She fists the base and begins stroking me up and down, slowly at first, then quickening her pace before sliding my entire length in her mouth.

My breathing picks up and I attempt to keep her head steady so I can guide my cock to the back of her throat. She uses her tongue like I’m her favorite lollipop, licking and sucking, swirling and rolling it around my tip as she works me more firmly with her skilled hands. She begins to speed up, clutching my hips and thrusting my dick in and out of her wet mouth. I close my eyes, absorbing all the pleasure she’s willing to give me until I cry out, “Fuck, Shelby!” and come in her mouth.

Shelby looks up with a wicked grin and swallows. She takes the back of her hand and wipes it across her mouth. “Mmmm. Now I need you to fuck me, hard.”

I raise an eyebrow and grin. “You have a very dirty mouth.” I climb over her, my cock now hard again and ready to be inside her. She already has the condom package, ripping it apart with her teeth and rolling it over my erection. I hover over her entrance; she teases me with her slick body until I finally enter her. I rock my hips fast and hard, picking up the pace when she pushes up to meet my thrusts until we’re both groaning and sweat is dripping down my back. When I stare at her face as I lead us to climax, I realize I’m looking at her, but seeing someone else. Someone who doesn’t see me … not yet, anyway.

The next morning, I wake up ahead of my alarm, exhausted. Four rounds of Shelby will do that to a guy. She completely wore me out last night. I don’t know how she does it.

I pull my legs up to my chest a few times in an attempt to stretch my sore muscles, but quickly lie back down and stare at the ceiling, thinking about Cara. I’m not sure what it is about her; she’s so pretty, yet she seems so nervous and wears those ridiculous glasses, which are obviously some sort of warning to stay away.
Put it out of your head, Ash. She’s not your type.

Dragging my tired ass out of bed, I take a quick shower and wash the remnants of Shelby off of me. I grab my Calvin Klein boxers from the top drawer, throw on a pair of faded jeans, a white t-shirt, and pull my old blue Converse sneakers from the floor of the closet. I open my door to find Delilah in the hallway, her auburn hair in messy waves, her cheeks pale. “Shouldn’t you be going in the other direction?”

She keeps her head down as she passes by me. “I’m not feeling well. I’m taking myself back to bed.”

I reach out and tilt her face up, noticing the milky color of her skin. “Do you want me to do anything for you before I go?”

“No thanks, Ash.”

I lean in and kiss her cheek, her face warm to the touch. “Feel better.”

“Thanks,” she says with a weak smile, and continues down the hall.

The scent of warm butter and maple syrup permeates the kitchen, but it’s empty. I scan the room. All the dishes are put away and the counters are clean. Mom is meticulous in not only her organization but in what she likes to call “clean as you go.” I don’t think I’ve ever walked into the kitchen and found dirty dishes in the sink.

There are waffles set aside on a warming plate. I snatch one up, and pour some orange juice into a glass when I notice a handwritten note on the back of a crumpled bank receipt.
Took Colt to the doctor, be back soon. Love, Mom.
I nab a pancake, down the juice, and run out the door.

Jason sees me the moment I step out of the car. “Hey, Ash.”

I pick up the pace a bit. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

He crams the last of a chocolate donut in his mouth, which seems to take priority over the pile of papers that just fell out of his backpack. He bends down to frantically collect them from the ground. “Didn’t you get my text last night?”

I eye him curiously. “No, what text?”

He grumbles. “My computer crashed in the middle of writing my Criminology paper and I freaked. I rebooted and powered that baby back up and was able to recover the document before I lost my mind. Thank goodness.”

I pull the phone out of my back pocket and check messages. “Oh yeah, I see it. Sorry about that, Shelby was over and I had my phone on vibrate.”

He erases all evidence of the chocolate with the back of his hand. “Vibrate, huh?” He grins and forces some books into the zippered pocket before they fall out, too. “No biggie. It all worked out. Hey, are we gonna play some hoops today at the park after classes or are you afraid I’m gonna take your ass to the cleaners?”

I jam the cell phone back in my jeans. “Yeah … I’ll show you how afraid I am. Let’s meet up later.”

Jason chuckles. “Alright, I’ll catch up with you later.”

The day goes by pretty smoothly, well, except I’m fucking late for Professor Travinski’s English class. I run down the hall and push the creaky door open, all eyes on me and my tardy entrance. I race in and grab a seat, nearly tripping over a chair in the process.

He diverts his attention away from the whiteboard and faces me, both hands gripping the brown belt of his sagging pants, tapping his finger against the buckle. “Mr. Taylor, so nice of you to grace us with your presence. Glad you could make it.”

The whole class laughs and I cover my forehead with the palm of my hand and attempt to chase away the bright shade of red that’s made its way to my face.

He coughs repeatedly and clears his throat. “As I was saying, our upcoming section will be about poetry. We will be exploring classic poets as well as learning to uncover our own potential. I’ve invited a student from my Modern English Literature class to help us out with this unit.” He waves his hands in the air. “Someone who can help us discover
our
inner poet. Everyone turn around and say hello to Cara Hayward.”

I whip my head around and there she is, sitting in the back corner of the classroom, a shy smile turning up her lips as she gives a brief hello to the class. She catches my eye and nods in acknowledgement. Suddenly my day just got a whole lot better.

I try to catch Cara in the hallway after class but she disappears in a cloud of students before I can reach her. That’s okay, though. I know where she’s headed … I’m on my way there, too.

“Ash, hold up,” Jason yells from the other end of the hallway. “What are you up to now?”

“I’m on my way to the library.”

He hoists his backpack over his shoulder. “Again?”

I subtly attempt to wipe the grin off my face. “I’ve got studying to do, man, and it’s the best place to do it.”

“Yeah, whatever you say, dude.” He knows me too well and can tell I’m hiding something. “Well, I’ll come, too. I’ve got to finish my Criminology paper anyway.”

I hesitate because I wasn’t expecting company. “Oh … okay.”

We stride in and plant ourselves at a table by the window facing the campus green. I toss my backpack down and fish out my Economics book. Jason immediately starts working through his notes. I’m about to make a joke about his handwriting looking like that of a first grader when I see Cara. She’s hidden between two shelves crammed with books, filing them away. She must sense my eyes on her because she looks up and meets them. I swear I see her lips curve up, but it’s hard to tell from this distance. Lifting my fingers off the pages, I give her a small wave. Her dainty hand raises just enough to acknowledge me. I’ll take that as a sign of progress. She begins shelving books again but I can’t stop looking. She’s so pretty. Her soft brown curls are pulled up in a sleek ponytail and a pale blue sundress with spaghetti straps covers her petite frame.

Just at that moment, Jason looks up noting my focus and following my gaze. “Whoa. Who’s that?
She
is delicious …”

I feel an unusual stabbing in my gut. “Hey, knock it off.”

“Whoa. What’s up with you? Since when aren’t
you
interested in something like that?”

I realize I’m getting defensive with him over a girl I barely know, which makes absolutely no sense. It does, however, make me realize I need to get my head out of my ass and stop acting like a jerk.

Cara pushes the cart in our direction while Jason continues to stare at her. “What’s with the glasses, though? They’re like, four times too big for her face.”

“I know, right? I’ve been trying to figure that out, too.”

He angles his head her way, giving me a wide-eyed smile. “So, do you know her? Maybe you can introduce us …”

I shoot him a cocky grin. “How should I answer that? Hmph. Not really to the first question and no way in hell to the second.”

He directs his gaze at Cara. “I see. So you want her all to yourself.” He shrugs. “That’s okay, I have eyes for someone else, anyway.”

I shake my head back and forth because I know exactly who he has eyes for … my baby sister.

Jason clasps his hands above his head and slumps back in the chair. “So my dad called me last night.”

“Oh yeah? How did it go?” I ask, closing my Econ book and giving him my full attention.

He frowns. “How it usually goes. He spent about forty-five minutes droning on and on about how working at his law firm when I graduate is such a smart decision. I swear I’ve heard the conversation so many times he might as well pre-record it.”

“I’m sorry, Jason.”

He brushes it off like what his dad says doesn’t really matter, when I know damn well it does. “Whatever. It didn’t work on Shawn or Gabriel so I’m his last ditch attempt.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I told him I might take some time off and just work retail for a while. I swear the line went dead for about five minutes.” He starts packing up his stuff, a distant look in his eyes. “It’s just not me, you know?”

“I know, dude.”

He pushes his chair back and zips up his backpack. “I’ve gotta run. I have to make up that Business Law exam.” Jason slips me a devious grin on his way out. “Have fun. I’ll see you for hoops at the park around four.”

“Sounds good.”

My bag is open, and I rifle through it to find a pencil so I can take some notes. I push aside the man pleaser book and almost laugh out loud, forgetting it was there. I sneak a peek to make sure Cara’s back at the circulation desk and walk over. When I approach the counter, I slide the book across and Cara’s fingers reach out to take it. When her eyes meet mine, I think she’s trying to conceal a smile.

“Hope it helped your sister.”

I swallow the chunk of bullshit caught in my throat. “Oh, yeah, thanks.”

She returns to organizing the books but says quietly, “thanks for helping me to my car yesterday.”

Dipping down, I tilt my head to the side, as far as possible to gain access to those eyes, and for the moment, it seems I’ve been granted permission. “It was my pleasure, really. Although I didn’t manage to keep you dry.” I stuff my hands in my back pockets. “So, you’re into poetry, huh?”

Her brows lift, showcasing an excited glow in her eyes. “Yeah.”

“I wish I could say the same. I completely suck at it.”
Because you have to let go to write poetry.