The Year We Hid Away (13 page)

Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh and oh
… My mind was a continuous loop of surprise and delight. Distracted, my hand slipped off Bridger’s hip and onto his penis. “Mmm,” he said as I grazed it. So I wrapped my fingers around it, surprised at how perfectly straight it pointed up towards his chest. It was hard and silky at the same time, and when I slipped my hand up the length of it, he made a happy groan from the back of his throat.

Heaven.

Before long, it was difficult to breathe, and touch him, and kiss him and not faint from arousal all at the same time. Something had to give. My head rolled back onto the pillow and my hand released him. And then I was down to just the breathing and the miracles happening beneath Bridger’s hand.

He moved closer to me then, his lips on my neck, one of his knees bent across my thighs. I was drowning in sensation, and in the wonder of so much of his skin pressed against mine. Then I felt a sort of heady acceleration, like feet running too quickly downhill. And a wave of pleasure swept me under, shimmering everywhere he touched me. I felt my back arch up off the bed, my hips twisting involuntarily. And I was lost to myself.

The next thing I knew were Bridger’s fingertips pressed gently to my lips, and his chuckle in my ear. “Shh… You’ll wake the neighborhood,” he said softly.

I sucked in oxygen as his words made it into my consciousness. “Sorry!”

He nuzzled into my hair. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s just too bad that I don’t turn you on at all.” He chuckled again.

Embarrassed, I punched him on the arm.

“Easy, killer.” He folded me close to his chest, where I tried to slow down my breathing.

“Wow,” was all I had to say for myself.

He cupped my face in his hands and stared into my eyes. “You sexy thing,” he whispered, kissing me. I wrapped my arms around him, sliding onto his body. He felt so good underneath me, all solid muscle and taut skin. We kissed, and his hips rolled gently underneath me. His erection pressed into my belly.

That’s when I finally began to feel nervous, because I wanted to make Bridger feel as wonderful as he’d made me feel. And I really had no idea what I was doing.

—
Bridger

To say that I was raring to go would be a dramatic understatement. And it wasn’t only because I hadn’t had sex in a ridiculously long time. That was part of it. But the anticipation was sweeter than that. My life was shit right now, and meeting someone special had not been on my agenda. But it had happened anyway, somehow. And so here I was, skin to skin with the most amazing girl I’d ever met.

Scarlet slipped off my body so that we lay facing each other again. Tentatively, she curled her hand around my shaft, her soft fingers stroking me.
Damn
. I had to clench every muscle in my body to try to control myself. And then I kissed her again, because it was either that or I’d probably start moaning like an overzealous porn star.

I wanted Scarlet. Badly. Even though we’d never had the chance to have sex before in real life, in my fantasies she and I were already Division One champs. My imagination was pretty vivid, but the real thing was so much better. The way her soft hair slid across my chest made me crazy. And the intense, sexy look in her eyes just about undid me.

I felt like a cartoon bomb with a fuse that was already lit. It was only a matter of time before I detonated. My hips moved of their own volition. She stroked me, and sighed into my mouth. And life was very, very good. Maybe too good.

“Scarlet,” I whispered, catching her hands in mine. “If we’re going to have sex, you’d better stop that. But if you don’t want to go there tonight, that’s okay too.”

She blinked, hesitating. And for a moment my body quivered with the fear that she was about to call everything to a halt. “I want to,” she whispered.

Blowing out a breath, I made myself count to ten before I reached for the condom, which was in my jeans, somewhere on the floor. My body was on fire, but at the same time I didn’t want to rush this. This was
Scarlet
. I wanted to do everything right.

“I never was much of a basketball fan until tonight,” she murmured.

“What?” I asked, stupidly. “Oh!” I laughed. I’d forgotten the rest of the world existed. There was only Scarlet and I, and bare skin.

Rustling through our discarded clothing, I finally came up with the packet I sought. When it tore, the room filled with that telltale medicinal odor which foretold imminent gratification. I rose up and rolled it on, all the while feasting on the sight of Scarlet’s lush body stretched out beneath me. I’d done this a hundred times before, but never with such sweet anticipation. This girl, and this moment were both rare gifts.

Trying to go slow, I stretched out over her. “You’re so beautiful,” I whispered, kissing her. But even to my own ears, the words didn’t measure up to the way I really felt. Every time she touched me, it felt as if she was saving me from something.

I nudged her knees apart with my own. And that’s when I saw it — a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. And her body tensed.

Lifting my head, I paused. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Perfectly,” she said. But her voice shook.

I propped myself up on one elbow and teased a finger around her nipple. “Scarlet, don’t take this question the wrong way. But have you done this before?”

Again she hesitated. And then, slowly, shook her head.

“Christ,” I swore. And then we blinked at each other for a moment, before I swung myself up and off her, turning to sit on the edge of the bed.

A warm hand landed on my lower back. “Bridger…? What’s the matter?”

There had been many moments in my life when Scarlet’s admission would not have even slowed me down. “Maybe we shouldn’t,” I said. God knows I wanted to. But for her, it wouldn’t just be sex. It would be a Big Deal. And I didn’t think my life could sustain any more drama. I was so tapped out. Which meant that I probably wasn’t thinking straight. And Scarlet deserved better than that.

“Hang on.” She scrambled up to sit beside me. “I think… I just became another thing you have to take care of, didn’t I?”

I dropped my head. Because she wasn’t far off the mark.

“Bridge, I didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“But what if it is a big deal?” I asked. Her first time shouldn’t be on a stranger’s bed, with a guy who’s life was circling the drain.

“Why does it have to be? This was my choice. You asked very politely, and I said yes instead of no. And now you’re rejecting me.”

“Damn.” I curled an arm around her back. “I’m not rejecting you. I could
never
reject you.” I rubbed the space between her shoulder blades. “It’s just that girls… some people think the first time is supposed to be… I don’t know. Important. But usually it’s just awful. Or maybe that’s just me and all my dopey friends.”

The tension bubbled out of her then, in the form of a giggle. Her soft skin shook against me as she laughed. Her head landed on my shoulder, that soft hair torturing me again. “So what’s the solution? Because if you won’t be my awful first, then you can’t be my excellent second. And if by some miracle Harkness Basketball makes it into the NCAA tournament, we’ll be stuck watching whatever movie is on.”

Smiling, I dropped my head into my hands. “Have you
met
our basketball team?”

“Bridger,” she whispered, her fingers lightly stroking my hip. “We can talk about basketball if you want to. But…” Her hands wandered onto my groin, just like they did every night in my dreams.

I held back a groan. “Does anyone ever win an argument with you?”

“Not often.”

I turned to meet her eyes, and her gaze was steady. She didn’t
look
nervous. Still, something held me back. “Seriously, Scarlet. How are you going to feel about it tomorrow?”

She leaned in, brushing her lips across mine. “You’ll just have to ask me tomorrow.” Then she kissed me, both her hands massaging my pecs. It was potent stuff.

When she slid her tongue into my mouth, I pushed her down on the bed. “You’re very persuasive,” I said. “Wait for me a sec.” I got up and stumbled into my boxers, then opened the fire door a crack. Lucy was out like a light, wheezing just a little with each breath. I grabbed something out of my desk drawer and then tiptoed back to Scarlet.

“What’s that?”

“It’s lube. Because I really don’t want to hurt you.”

She settled onto her back. But I didn’t climb on top of her right away. I wasn’t in a hurry anymore. If she wanted to do this with me, I was going to make it good for her.

I lay down next to her, smoothing her hair away from her face, trailing a hand down her belly. Kissing her. Touching her the way I had before.

“Nervous?” I whispered. Our kisses were as gentle as I could manage, under the circumstances. My dick was starting to remember that we were just about to get some. I was throbbing with need.

Scarlet shook her head. “I’m only nervous about… you liking it too. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

My lips paused on her cheekbone. “You never touched a guy before?”

“You’re not going to freak out again, are you?”

I laughed. “No. I’m just going to wonder how in the hell it’s possible that you never had a boyfriend in high school. You’re
hot
, Scarlet.”

“It… I had dates when I was younger, and always fought them off. Lots of grabby sixteen year olds tried.”

I chuckled against the smooth skin of her neck. “If I’d met you when I was sixteen, I would have grabbed you too.”

“But last year… can we not talk about this, actually?”

I wrapped both arms around her in a protective embrace. “Sorry. None of it matters, anyway.”

“We already decided that,” she whispered.

“Yes we did.” I gave her the slowest, most controlled kiss I could manage.

“I want to make you happy, Bridge.”

“You already do.” I took her hand and guided it to my shaft. “Guys are easy,” I breathed into her ear. “There’s only one button to push.” Her fingers closed around the condom. So I lowered her hand, and when her palm curved around my sack, I let out an achy breath.

There was no more talking for a while. I tended to her, touching her until she began to whimper with pleasure. And when I finally rose to kneel between her knees, there wasn’t any fear in her face. I doused myself with lube, and while she watched me touch myself, her eyes were hooded with lust. “Still good?” I asked, and she barely managed to nod.

But now
I
was nervous. Taking myself in hand, I eased forward, pressing slowly onward. I watched her face for trouble. She frowned just for a second. Christ, she was tight. And I realized I was holding my breath. But then her face softened.

Holding perfectly still, I asked, “are you okay?”

“Better than okay,” she whispered.

I eased back, and she smiled at me. And when I pressed forward again, she sighed, her breasts arching upward. And the sound of it rushed through me, tightening up my balls, pressing the small of my back.

Jesus
.

I went slow, but it didn’t cool me off any. The slide of my body against hers was delicious. Her eyes tracked me in a lusty haze, and the whole experience almost killed me. I put my elbows down on the bed and made the symbol for “time out” with my hands. “I need to talk about basketball for a second.”

“What?”

I needed a moment to pull myself back from the action. And basketball bored the snot out of me, so it was the perfect distraction. Instead of admiring Scarlet’s lush body beneath me, I tried to think about skinny men in baggy nylon shorts, their shoes squeaking on the gymnasium floor.

Must. Relax.

Scarlet reached up to put her hands on my face. “Is something wrong?”

I shook my head. “Everything is going a little too well. Do you know any basketball trivia? I just read that the shot clock is eleven seconds longer in college ball than in the pros. Wait… the shot clock is not the image I need right now.”

Her lips curved into a smile. “Bridge, I wasn’t freaking out before. But if you keep talking about
basketball
when your…”

I didn’t let her finish the sentence. Instead, I took her mouth in a hungry kiss. She wrapped her arms around my back, and the kiss went wild. With my mouth locked onto hers, I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. My hips settled into a rhythm, and my breathing became hot and tight. And Scarlet seemed to join the swing of things, meeting me on every stroke.

“Scarlet,” I panted between kisses. “You make me so fucking happy. Every day you make me happy.” I forced myself to slow the pace, circling my hips against hers. And Scarlet gasped with pleasure. “You like that?” I whispered. I did it again. And in my arms, she seemed to gather herself in.

“Bridge,” she breathed, her eyes closed. I ground against her, and then I watched as it took her under. She arched off the bed and moaned.

“Oh, fuck yes,” I bit out. I covered her mouth with my own and jacked my hips. Straining with pleasure, I came like a freight train. She gripped me with her knees as I rode it out, sweating and wild.