No Regrets (13 page)

“Dude,” Syd’s voice carries through the fog and we separate. I look over my shoulder at the two smirking guys and a wide
-eyed Shelly playing with her phone.

“Get a room or knock it off,” he says with his head lazily on the couch.

I pull away, embarrassed. Henry shrugs and stands, lifting me in the air with his arms. He almost drops me, because I’m not ready for his quick movement. I manage to fling my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his hips, instead of tumbling to the floor.

“Bedroom?” he asks, already walking in that direction.

“Yes, please,” I whisper back, uncaring of how desperately needy and horny I look to his roommates. When I do glance back, I see they’re fully engrossed with the movie.

Henry tosses me on his bed and I land on a smooth comforter. I tug at my shirt. “Why are we wearing so many clothes?” I ask.

“No fucking clue.” He yanks his shirt over his head and does the same to mine. They both land on his desk, knocking stuff to the floor. He attacks my shorts next and soon they’re in the pile along with his and I’m lying in my bra and panties while he stands over me buck naked, erection bobbing into his stomach.

I get to my knees and he does the same. My hands wrap around him, hard and ready while he struggles with the clasp on my bra. “
Jesus, do I need a code for this thing?”

“Let me do it,” I laugh, batting away his hands.

“No way, I can do it.” He sets his jaw in determination. This only motivates me to lean forward and lick the hard lines of his chin. I push him to his back and straddle my legs over his hips. “Fuck it,” he says, now that my breasts hover over him. There’s a greedy gleam in this eyes and he yanks the cups down in frustration, so my nipples are visible. Palming my breasts he brings his mouth to one.

“You’re ridiculous,” I laugh or more rightly, squeal. That quickly turns into a moan because he’s skilled with his mouth and even more so with his hands, which have found their way into my panties.

“Ridiculously awesome,” he says, trying to keep a straight face.  It’s impossible, though, and we giggle our way through, still high and definitely giddy. My mind relaxes while every nerve on my body feels heightened.

I’m ready for him an
d I want him. I express this by tugging and pulling at his body—reaching for his dick. His blue, heated eyes stop me cold and his head disappears between my legs, his mouth and tongue working lazily against my body. I thread my fingers in his hair, rolling my hips to the rhythm we’ve set. He brings me to the very edge before lifting his head. His fingers grab my hips and he slides me down the bed, pushing inside. The pressure and speed of his move elicits a gasp.

I only last moments
more and he follows behind me, resting his exhausted, sweaty, slippery body on mine.

“You’re right,” I say once I catch my breath.

“About what?” He’s resting his chin on my boobs and looks up with glazed-over eyes.

I run my finger along face.
“You are pretty awesome.”

Chapter Twelve

Our lust makes us careless, or at least uncaring about our prior rules for sex at work.  Heated kisses in the pump room. A hand job behind the locked office door. Tate’s distracted by Lisa and we can’t get enough of one another.

“Summer romance suits you,” Josh says, from the lounge chair next to mine. It’s Tuesday, my day off, and I’m up here because I’m obsessed. My roommate lowers his glasses and checks me out. “Or at least sex does.”

“I’d call you a pervert or something, but it’s true. Sex with Henry is pretty great.”

“I’ve heard,” he says with a knowing smile. His bedroom is next to mine.
“I don’t blame you, though. He’s got a killer body. Once I got my hands on that I’d have a hard time leaving it alone.”

“Davey’s not enough for you?”

“He’s enough but he’s gone home for the holiday.”

“Too bad.”  I close my book and tuck it under my seat. “I’ve been meaning to ask what’s going on with Tricia lately? She’s never around.”

“Funny, she asked the same thing about you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve just been pretty focused on Henry lately.” He holds up his hands. “I’m not judging. Just stating the facts.”

“Well, she’s not around either,” I say. “At least I have a reason.”

“She has a reason, but maybe you should ask her what it is.”

“You’re not going to tell me.”

“No way. I learned my lesson about getting in between the two of you in the ninth grade when you both had a crush on Ricky Richardson and got in that slap fight in front of the front hall trophy case.”

“I apologized for that.”

He sighs. “Just talk to her, okay? Make an effort.”

“Fine. I can do that.”

“So,” Josh says, shifting gears. “I saw some photos of you and Henry getting quite close on Instagram the other day.”

“What photos?” I rack my brain and come up empty.

He picks up the phone and taps the screen. “Here.”

“Ugh,” I say, scrolling through the photos. Picture after picture of me and Henry making out. I’m straddling his lap and his hands are all over my backside.
At least the weed and paraphernalia are not in the shot. “Who’s account is this?”

“It says ShellybeanD3?”

“Freaking Shelly,” I sigh. “I was stoned and horny.”

“Your two weaknesses.”

I wonder if Henry’s seen this and if it would upset him. Probably not. Not much does, but I don’t like the exposure. Not after the video and all the fallout last year.

We both stare at Henry across the pool talking to Tate. It’s the week before the Fourth of July and many of the families are out of town so things are a little slow.

“I think you should go fuck him now,” Josh declares.

“What? No,”
I say. “I mean, sure I want to, but there’s the whole ethics of the ‘no sex at work’ thing and Henry’s on duty. Plus, Tate is right there and well, where would we even do it?”

“Well, obviously the water is out. How about the office?”

“No.”

“Quickie in the car?”

I consider it for a moment, but it’s 98 degrees outside. We’d suffocate. “Too hot.”

What the hell did I mean, too hot? I’m not seriously considering this.

“What about the changing room? It’s pretty spacious in there, shady and cool. There’s even a bench.”

“Someone could wal
k in and Henry’s working,” I argue.

Josh sounds
pretty excited about this now and throws his legs over the side of the chair. He leans toward me conspiratorially. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. You walk into the changing room and get Henry to follow you. Lock the door. I’ll distract Tate.”

“I don’t know,” I say, but one look at Henry and my libido overtakes me. He’s got both arms stretched up to the top of the shelter roof, fingers hooked over the edge. The waist band of his pants slides down revealing the white, non-tan skin. The soft, downy hair of his happy trail fully exposed.
I ball my fists in determination and stand. “Let’s do this.”

With my shoulders back and my chest forward
, I make my way across the pool. I’ve already attracted Henry’s attention. Even Tate sees me coming, but then again, I’m wearing a bikini, which is pretty much all it takes. I pass the boys and tilt my head, suggesting Henry follow me. I don’t look back, but feel him behind me and sure enough, I’ve barely made sure the changing room is clear when he appears in the doorway.

“What’s up,
” he says, eyes everywhere but my face. He’s oblivious though, which makes this even more exciting.

“Lock the door.”

Henry’s eyebrows shoot upward and a silly, sexy grin forms on his lips.  He turns the lock and closes the space between us. His skin is hot from the sun, greasy with sunscreen. The surprise make-out seems to be something he’s into; at least I assume this due to the noticeable tightness in his pants.  His fingers tug and pull at my bikini top but I stop him, pushing him toward the benches.

“Sit,” I direct.
He follows my orders and slides his back down the wall until he’s sitting. I kneel before him and his jaw drops.

“Yeah?” he asks. I nod and paw at his waistband and that’s all the instruction he needs. Moving quickly, erratically, he lowers his shorts and his erection
springs free. His trunks fall to his ankles.

I run my hands up and down
his thighs, pushing his legs apart. I make sure to “accidentally” graze his cock in the process. This elicits the hottest, genuine shudder and he expels a long shaky breath. His pleasure makes me bold. I know we’ve only got a few minutes. Josh can only distract Tate for so long.

“Ready?” I ask.
Henry mimics me licking my lips.

“Uh, duh. I mean, yes, please.
” I roll my eyes and bend down. Tasting the tip and then the sides. I take him in whole.

“Oh man,” he mumbles, pushing one hand into my hair and the other on my breast. A few minutes is all it takes and I have Henr
y worked into a trembling mess. “Pip,” he breathes, pushing at my hair but I don’t stop. Instead, I hold onto his hips, absorbing the convulsions that jolt through his body as he comes.

Eyes closed, Henry sinks back into the wall, his breath heavy and strained.

“You better go,” I tell him, even though I’m horny as hell myself.

“Just like that?” he asks. “No cuddling?”

“Sorry, babe. We can cuddle later.”

“Damn right
, we can. And will.” His voice cracks like a twelve year old.

I walk over to the sink and mirror and make a lame
attempt to straighten my hair and top. Henry’s face appears behind mine in the mirror and I feel his hand on my hip. I turn around.

“You’re the best,”
he says, his eyes filled with utter sincerity. He’s pretty freaking adorable.

“You’re welcome
?” I ask, more than say. I don’t think he hears me because I’m engulfed in a massive hug. His arms squeeze me so tight I can barely breathe.

He
finally releases me with a kiss, then unlocks and opens the door. Sunlight and heat burst into the room. I wait for a beat, squinting at the bright light. There’s no one around so I follow him out, adjusting the ties at my hips. No need to expose myself to everyone at the pool.

I round the corner of the short hallway from the changing area and hear Tate call my name. “Zadie! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“You were?”  Something about his voice sounds off and I look around. Josh is walking back to his chair and Henry’s already on his way back across the pool.

“Yeah, babe,” he says, throwing his arm around my shoulder. “Wanted to make sure you were all in for the party on the fourth?”

“The party?” I ask, trying to follow.

“At the frat.”
His eyes dart to the right, while flashing an encouraging, mega-watt smile. I glance over and see Lisa and her husband under the shelter. Admittedly, he does seem pretty interested in our conversation. “Remember?”

“Oh
, right, of course. I’m all in,” I say. 

“Great,” he says, giving me a hug, not unlike the one Henry just gave me in the bathroom. Well, physically it’s the same. The emotional connection falls flat. Post blow-job hugs are far superior to fake relationship hugs.

I wiggle free from Tate and start back over to my seat with Josh. Halfway there I’m stopped by Lisa’s husband, Eric, who’s easing into the water. “You’ve got quite the fan club,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

“One boy to sneak around with—another for show. How do they feel about it?”

My eyes flick to Henry
, who is in the middle of an argument with an eight year old in the deep end.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t
,” he snorts. “Slutty college girls are a dime a dozen and typically your trivial love affairs wouldn’t interest me. Except I suspect they’re affecting my family. Marriage isn’t a game, young lady. Especially mine.”

His tone makes me uncomfortable and I start to walk away. I’ve barely moved two feet when he says,
“I’m curious what would happen if I revealed to Tate that you just had a tryst with that other young man. He emerged from the changing rooms looking quite pleased with himself. I figure you had something to do with that.” He winked knowingly. Gross.

“Are you threatening me?” I ask, conflicted and confused about this situation. Who is he to threaten me?

“Just speculating,” he shrugs. “Just like how I wonder if your boss would care that you’re all involved, you know, intimately? That you risk the safety of the swimmers to screw around?”

Anger and fear build in my chest but I don’t react. He steps forward and in a low voice he says, “You don’t want to mess with me, Zadie. If Tate is hurting my family like I suspect he is
, then I will hurt those he cares about in return.”

I stare at him hard, gi
ving him my most disgusted face and walk away. I mutter, “Psycho,” loud enough for him to hear.  Josh looks up from his phone with a grin but it fades as soon as he sees my expression.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, frowning.

I shake my head and pick up my book. My hands shake and I try my hardest to steady them. I realize now that Tate was right about Lisa’s husband being suspicious. I also know that I need to come clean with Henry. Sooner than later.

*

My fishbowl tastes like water
ed-down tequila, the juke box music seems especially loud, and my sundress is way too revealing, but I’ve come out with an ulterior motive. The plan is for the drink to make me bold, the music to drown out a possible scene and for my boobs to hypnotize Henry into thinking about sex instead of being pissed.

One look at his semi-glazed over eyes and all three seem to be working. That would be great if I’d fessed up about Tate yet but I haven’t. He probably just thinks he’s getting lucky
tonight. I figure that if he’s still speaking to me once this conversation is over, then that’s a pretty solid assumption.

“These taste like crap,” he says, stirring his straw around the giant glass. “Where are Tricia and Josh? Did they bail on Fishbowl Thursday?”

“They may meet us later,” I say. “Josh and Davey are pretty tight and even though she hasn’t said anything, I think Tricia may be seeing someone.”

“Really? Why the secrecy?”

“Someone at work I think.” I take a sip of my drink and run my finger along my sundress strap nervously. “Um, I had something I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”

He takes another sip.
“What’s that?”

“Have you noticed how Tate’s been pretty huggy with me lately?”

Henry sobers a bit. “Is he bugging you? Did he do something?”

“No, not exactly.” I take a gulp of my drink and sigh. “Before we went to the camp that weekend I caught Tate and Lisa having sex on the office desk. I told him I would keep it a secret until we had a chance to talk, but instead Lisa’s husband showed up at work. Tate was convinced her husband
knew and begged me pose as his girlfriend.”

“What do you mean, pose?” he asks, warily.

I lean forward. “Nothing big. Promise. Just hugs and stuff when her husband was around. I told him I wasn’t doing it more than the one time, but a hug is just a hug and not a big deal, except…”

Henry runs his hands through his hair. “Just be honest. Did you sleep with Tate?”

My jaw drops. “What? No.”

He looks relieved enough that I’m sure he believes me. “I know Tate well enough to buy what you’re saying. I had a feeling he was fucking Lisa. There was just no way he
’d keep his hands off her all summer.”

“So you’re not mad?” I ask, feeling a wave of relief myself.

Henry moves from his side of the booth and slides into mine. He wraps his arms around me and gives me a kiss. “Tate’s crazy and you’re beautiful. I’m just glad he didn’t try to hit on you because then I’d have to kick his ass. Again.”