12
The Beginning of the End
Mitch
The low whistling sound and the wind whipping at the tent walls says tonight’s going to be a cold one.
Fall is still a month away, but summer is winding down early, which is why I hate camping this late in the season, when the evenings get so cold and unpredictable. But I agreed to come along for Max because I love how she comes alive when we’re out in nature.
It doesn’t hurt that we’re sharing a sleeping bag, too.
I shimmy it up to my chin and tug my beanie down.
Next to me, Maxine shivers. Instinctively, I turn and wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer, tucking her against me.
There’s been a lot more affection between us lately.
Lots of touching and hugging. I’ve tried not to overthink it, but when she presses her ass against my crotch, I slam my eyes shut and can’t stop from getting hard. I just hope she’s too asleep to notice.
Frozen still, fearing that the slightest movement might make her roll away from my arms, I take shallow breaths.
Being in love with your best friend truly is the shittiest thing.
The wind picks up, and the whistling gets louder, and when she wiggles, my erection grows harder.
“Mitch, I’m cold,” Max says in a low, hushed voice.
I’m not sure if she’s whispering because she’s half-asleep or because she doesn’t want the others to hear, especially Hunter, who’s in the tent next to ours.
“It might snow,” I joke.
“I hope so,” Maxine giggles. The girl loves winter and the cold.
“An August snow storm? You’d like that?” I ask, trying to divert my attention from how good her ass feels when it rubs against me.
Abruptly, she pushes back. The pressure is so damn intense, I force myself to think about hockey.
“I’d love it,” she answers. “I’d sleep better.”
“You’re already freezing and it’s not even in the mid-fifties.” My fingertips brush along her bare hip where her sweater has lifted.
“Yes, but you’re here, keeping me warm.” Her head falls back onto my chest, right below my chin. “You know,” she begins, looking up, but not enough for me to see her eyes. “They say you conserve body heat better naked.”
Her little giggle tells me she’s playing around, but I bite my lip, fighting the urges racing through my hormonally imbalanced teenage mind. Over the past few weeks, she’s been more playful, our banter more intense. Or that could be my wishful thinking brought on by my leaving town soon.
“Whoever said that is a genius.”
She laughs again and pushes into me, but this time I am absolutely certain it’s intentional.
“Can you take your shirt off?” she asks.
“No, thanks. I’m freezing,” I answer, hoping it’s enough to dissuade her, because the truth is I’m a boiling pot of arousal.
“What if I take mine off, too?” she counters.
I’m sure the cold is making me hallucinate. “Are you being serious?”
She tugs her sweater up over her head. Sadly, darkness blankets the tent, so I can’t see much other than her silhouette. She rolls around in my arms to face me. “All right, your turn.”
Her hands drop to my waist and she inches my sweater up, my stomach muscles tensing beneath her chilly fingertips. Giving in, I rip the sweater off, chucking it to the side, and she quickly wraps her arms around my torso.
The breathy, whimpering sound she makes sets every inch of my skin on fire. The soft cotton of her bra and her small but perfect breasts press against my chest. Even with my dick straining against my sweats, I swear I could die of bliss.
“Warmer?” Her lips tickle right below my throat.
“Yep,” I reply, my voice rough.
“Mitchell?” She only uses my full name when she’s upset, or when she’s extremely serious and my body tenses in expectation. “Take your pants off.” There’s no hesitation in her command, only confidence and, well, it’s one hell of a turn-on.
She’s my best friend. She’s also my other best friend’s sister. I may have fantasized about something like this happening, but fantasizing is far less messy than the real deal.
“I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”
She runs a hand up my chest, to my jaw, her delicate, short nails scratching my chin. A five o’clock shadow has grown in since this morning and it rustles beneath her touch.
“I think it would.”
Without leaving my arms, she wiggles under the sleeping bag, her movements bumping my hard-on. Then she tugs out what I soon realize are her sweatpants and throws them over her shoulder. Picturing her in nothing but her underwear practically makes me come right then and there.
Hockey. Mouth guards. Sweaty players spitting on the ice. I repeat these things in my mind, trying to cling to my sanity.
Again, she snuggles into my arms, her cold thighs pressing against my pants.
We haven’t crossed a line… yet. All we’ve done is cuddle. And we’ve cuddled a million times before. That’s all this is… so far.
We’ve grown up together, too. I’ve seen her in a bathing suit. This isn’t any different.
Except that in so many ways, it’s light-years different.
“Mitch?” she says, sounding distant.
“Yes, Max?”
“Have you ever thought about…” She stops, as if weighing her next words. “Having sex… with me?”
My mouth goes dry.
That’s not what I wanted her to say. Don’t get me wrong, I love that she said it, but this isn’t the place for this conversation.
“With you?” The surprise in my tone almost sounds insulting.
“Never mind,” she quickly replies.
Each passing second is one I should spend being honest with her, telling her how I feel. Of its own accord, my hand drifts from her waist over her hip and around to her ass.
“Almost every single day,” I whisper, giving it a gentle squeeze.
She shoves my chest playfully. “You’re full of it.” I don’t see her smile, but I can hear it in her words.
“Why wouldn’t I think of it? You’re gorgeous.”
“I’m so not.” She shakes her head, the cold tip of her nose skimming over my skin.
I glance down. Even without seeing that intoxicating glimmer in her shockingly beautiful blue eyes, I know it’s there, just like I know there’s a small crinkle between her ginger brows.
“Yes, Maxine Nolan. You are. You’ve always been.”
She rests her forehead on my chest, and I picture the faint blush creeping across her freckled cheeks. “You know I’m a… virgin, right?”
I nod, unable to answer. She’s always assumed I’m not, but to be fair, I’ve never told her I was.
“I don’t want to be a senior and still be a virgin.”
I take her chin between my fingers, tilting her head back. “Who cares if you are?”
“I’ve never been with a guy! It’s embarrassing.”
I fight my need to tell her I’ve never done more than finger a girl.
“I don’t mind waiting,” she continues. “But I want my first time to be special. To be with someone I care for.” She slides her small hands up my chest, then cups my cheeks, spreading warmth through my skin and down my limbs.
“Obviously, you can say no. I just thought that maybe… it could be with you.”
“Max…” I begin, almost unable to resist the need in her voice. I want this. I’ve dreamed of this for so long. Why am I suddenly so against it?
Because, dumbass, she’s family.
“You’re my best friend, Mitch,” she states, echoing my feelings, but she’s using it as a reason why we should do this. “With you it would be special.”
“I’m not sure you’ve thought this through,” I reply, hating the condescension in my voice.
“I have thought this through.” With no hesitation, she reaches down, cupping my now rock-hard cock, and her sudden conviction makes it near impossible for me to breathe.
I’ve always adored that about her—when she sets her sights on something, she goes for it, no questions asked. Thrilled, I squeeze my eyes shut and fight to hold on to my self-control.
“I want to have sex with you. And tonight would be the best time.”
I open my eyes in time to see her lips moving to meet mine.
This is happening. I’m letting it happen. And I don’t regret it one bit…
A sharp, wailing siren fills the tent and Maxine slips from my grasp… She’s drifting away…
Sweating, I wake with a jolt, my sheets tangled around my legs and tented at my waist.
“Sonofabitch,” I groan, rubbing my face with my hands.
I haven’t thought about that night in so long. I guess those repressed memories are more than happy to pop up now since I’ve been seeing Maxine every day. Memories I could definitely do without.
That night up in the woods changed everything between us. Irreparably. Most of all, it freaked me out and changed me in ways I never recovered from.
I shut my eyes, digging my fingers into them and see Maxine’s conflicted gaze staring back at me.
I see the pain my rejection caused. The hurt spread across her beautiful face when I lied and told her I didn’t want her that way.
The icy cold emptiness I felt when her warm, supple body pulled away from mine.
Sometimes, I wonder if I’d said yes, how things would have worked out. Would her lies have cut even deeper? Would my heart have been completely shattered instead of just broken in half?
That night, she left me in more ways than simply rolling out of our sleeping bag.
That night was the beginning of the end of all we’d ever been. Of all we could have been had I just been braver and taken a chance.