Chapter Sixteen #2
‘So I slept with his friend, shortly after that. As like a revenge thing, I guess.’
I laugh. ‘Holy shit. Still no Taylor Swift soundtrack?’
‘Definitely not. Ugh. It was at a house party. God, we were in somebody else’s bedroom with the door locked. I’m not proud of it. That one wasn’t romantic.’
‘Has there ever been a… you know… a romantic one?’
‘Once. I’d just turned eighteen. He worked in a paint factory. He was my boyfriend for a while. He was the most… considerate.’
‘Why’d you break up?’
‘We drifted.’ She sighs, the sigh morphing into a snicker. ‘Plus, he always smelled like turps.’
We both laugh. I’ll put him in the ‘fucking idiot’ category along with the rest of them.
‘What about you?’ she continues. ‘What happened to the college girlfriend? Taylor Swift soundtrack.’
‘Well…’ I feel myself blush. ‘She was the captain of the cheer squad.’
‘No!’ Serenity shrieks.
‘She cheated on me with my teammate.’
Her face falls. ‘Oh.’
‘I won’t lie. It kinda sucked.’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Didn’t you just tell me your boyfriend did the same thing?’
She gives a shrug. ‘I mean, sure, but we weren’t in love or anything, we were just dumb teenagers. So… what happened after that?’
‘Uh. I jumped from one serious relationship into another. Gracie Olavsen. Social sciences major. Kind of a brainiac. She dumped me. Said she didn’t wanna be a token NFL bride or have her career defined by any success I had as an NFL player. And that was after the draft.’
Serenity’s raised her brow. She blinks.
‘So, you see, I didn’t exactly sow any wild oats in college,’ I add. ‘I mean, that’s my body count, right there.’
‘But you were a loyal boyfriend,’ she says, and I sense she’s trying to make me feel better. ‘Which is a hundred per cent better than most guys I know.’
I can feel myself blushing again. Calm it down, Walsh. I know I shouldn’t say what I’m about to say, but I guess I’m gonna do it anyway. ‘I’m just not exactly Mr Experience.’
She watches me, a cute little smile on her face. ‘Didn’t anybody ever tell you it’s quality over quantity?’
All this sex talk is putting me at half-mast. I shift position on the couch. Damn if I don’t wanna be her number nine and blow all those other guys out the water. I know I can’t ask for a breakdown, but the athlete in me needs to find out the competition.
‘So… Mr Turpentine. Was he your only boyfriend other than high school jackass?’
She smiles shyly at my question and plays with her shirt sleeve. ‘My last boyfriend had his own bar. Turned out that wasn’t all he had. There was a wife and two kids at home I didn’t know about the whole time I was dating him.’
‘Jesus. How long were you dating him?’
‘A few months. She tracked me down and confronted me at The Bounty one afternoon. It was humiliating. The worst thing was, she didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t know about her existence.
About the kids’ existence. She was ten years older than me.
I felt like such a cliché. Put me off meeting a guy online ever again. ’
She inhales. ‘Anyway. That was more than two years ago, and I’ve not been on a date since. Until you. So, I might be a little more experienced, but I’m very out of practice in that department.’
We both stare at one another for a moment, then look away. When I look back at her, she’s blushing as hard as I am. We both descend into laughter.
‘So, we’re Mr Inexperienced versus Miss Out-of-Practice,’ I say.
It feels like we’re on a level. Or maybe something changed in the atmosphere, I don’t know. But I feel like I can be wholly honest with her right at this moment.
‘Gracie Olavsen. The brainiac? She might have been my girlfriend, but we only had full sex once.’
Serenity frowns. ‘Only once? How come?’
‘She said… she said I was too big for her, and it was uncomfortable.’
Serenity snickers again. ‘Is that you trying to show off?’
‘I’m serious. She didn’t like… you know… she liked other stuff. She liked me to go down on her, that was it.’
‘But what about you?’
I blow out my cheeks, but I feel comfortable telling her this, and I never told anyone else. ‘Usually, I’d just jack off in the bathroom once she’d fallen asleep. Man, have I just crossed a line?’
She’s laughing and it seems like we’re okay.
‘You’re a Mutineers running back. You should have women lining up to sleep with you, you know that, right?’
I can tell I’m blushing again. ‘Yeah, they all DM me to tell me that, but… I don’t know.’
We’re quiet for a moment. Serenity runs her tongue along her bottom lip, then bites it with her teeth. Something crackles in the atmosphere.
‘What kinds of things do you like?’ Serenity asks.
I feel a surging sensation in my balls. Oh fuck. The sex talk just tipped over into something else. Fuck, Walsh, quit blushing. ‘I like you,’ I say.
Before I know it, she’s gotten to her feet. She rids herself of shoes. She then takes two steps, lowers herself back down, straddling my thighs. I go from half to full mast inside of a second.
‘I like you too,’ she whispers.
I shift a little under her and look up. Those eyes. Sparkling with a special brand of sweetness. Innocent almost, like those eight other guys were really a myth. Like they didn’t even really touch her. Leaning my head forward, we pause for a moment, just watching each other.
‘I want you,’ I whisper on an exhale.
‘I want you too,’ she says.
In that same moment, it’s like each of us is nervous about making the first move.
Our lips brush together once, twice, then on the third brush we hold, our lips finally locked.
Desire for her explodes in my gut. I wonder if she realizes how hard she makes me, how much power she has over me right now.
My hands go to her waist, shifting her so that my dick is pressing up between her legs through her jeans. I want her to know what she does to me.
She pulls away, breathless. ‘Do you have…?’ she asks, gazing down at me and her hair frames her face.
‘Yes,’ I say and capture her lips again as our tongues get reacquainted.
I think I bought condoms out of desperation and hope, not expecting to have to use them this soon.
Now I’m glad I had the presence of mind to go buy protection.
I’m not the kind of guy to convince a girl that I don’t need to suit up.
And, hell, I’m nervous because it’s been a while since sex involved being inside a girl, but when Serenity whimpers against my mouth, I know she wants this as much as I do.
Blood rushes south and I swear if that was the last sound I ever heard, I’d die happy.
She backs up to a standing position. I watch her slowly untie the knot in her shirt.
The material drops from her shoulders to the floor.
Underneath, her tee clings to every curve.
She watches me as she peels it off, lifting it over her head, and it follows the shirt.
She’s wearing the prettiest white lace bra adorned with tiny flowers and the sight of her breasts swelling above the lace drives me wild. My body is on fire for her.
Next her fingers drift down to the waistband of her jeans.
Serenity unfastens the button with one hand and shimmies the zipper down, giving a peek of the white lace trim of her panties.
She works the denim over her hips, sashaying a little left to right, leaning forward to give me a delectable view of her breasts bobbing up and down as she moves.
My breath is shaky. She steps outta the jeans and lets them go, pushing them aside with her foot, with one hand bringing her hair over her shoulder.
As she straightens, I swallow. My gaze roves hungrily over her body.
The white underwear is stark against her glowing skin.
But the way that she’s standing there in just her lingerie, it’s like she’s offering herself to me, and an invisible force clamps around my heart.
I gotta have this girl. I want the world to know she’s all mine.
When she turns and walks to the door to the bedroom, glancing seductively over her shoulder, my eyes drift lower.
She pauses, runs her fingers down the wood frame.
She’s wearing a thong, a narrow triangle of fabric skimming across her hips, the smooth skin of her ass bared for me.
Desire roars in my veins. I get to my feet, go to my bag to get the box of condoms, kick off my shoes and follow.
Serenity backs onto the bed. The linens haven’t been straightened out since we were here a couple’ days ago.
She gets on the sheets and kneels for me, her thighs spread apart, waiting as I get undressed to my boxer briefs.
My knees sink into the mattress as I come to face her.
Her hair is still pushed over one shoulder, so I tilt my head, my lips making contact with one side of her neck.
She moves her head too, allowing me increased access.
‘No hickies, okay?’ she whispers, and I detect a giggle. ‘Kathleen would hang me out to dry.’
I cease sucking on her soft skin, my lips puckering instead to gentle kisses.
My left hand is at the small of her back.
I take a sharp intake of breath as her fingers cup my balls, sliding all the way up the length of my rigid shaft, over the black cotton of my underwear.
I can’t help myself. I let out a growl as I pull her to me, capturing her mouth again, the heat between us undeniable.
I want to take my time with her, yet at the same time, I want to claim her, make her mine, give in to my basest physical needs.
‘Serenity,’ I whisper between kisses.