Chapter 13 Eden
Eden
Sarah Millican is a British comedian who I fucking love. She’s also the celebrity I chose to voice my daily workouts. I’d rather have a sarcastic Geordie telling me to pick up my feet than an over enthusiastic health nut. Their positivity gets right on my tits.
Anyway, I’ve successfully completed not one but two sessions on the app. The first was pretty short, and I only had to walk. It felt more like a warmup.
The second session had me jogging for thirty-second intervals. Thirty seconds might not sound like a lot, but trust me when I say it pushed me to my limit. I had actual sweat beads on my forehead when I finished.
I was dead serious about my promise to go all in. I know I should be ashamed at how easily I crumbled, utterly discarding my years of commitment to no exercise. All because of a pretty girl. But I’m not ashamed. For the first time ever, I’m excited to step out of my comfort zone.
There’s still a voice in the back of my head reminding me of our limited time together.
It’s sad to think my new health regime might last longer than our relationship.
At some point, we need to sit down and have a real conversation about it.
Sloane has probably already got acceptance letters from colleges all over the country.
If not, she’s at least got her top three picked out and ready to apply.
I have my heart set on Rhode Island School of Art. If that doesn’t pan out, I want CalArts. That one would be pretty sweet, actually. Wouldn’t be the worst if I had to accept my second choice, considering how much warmer it would be than the East Coast.
So if I’ve already thought about college, Sloane definitely has. I don’t even know what she wants to do. There is still so much we don’t know about each other.
I’m bending over unlacing my sneakers when I feel fingers walking up my back. Snapping up, I spin around to face Sloane who is not so subtly checking me out.
“Hey, babe,” she coos. It’s amazing how quickly we’ve become comfortable with one another. In the space of three days, we’ve gone from awkward shy smiles to sucking face and calling each other babe.
“How was practice?”
Her hands fall to my hips. “It was fine. How was the app?”
I’m finding it difficult to concentrate and form words. Since Sloane told me she was ready to have sex, it’s all I can think about when she touches me. I’m not ready, and I don’t know when I will be. My worry is Sloane will get frustrated.
“Eden?”
“Right. Yeah, it was okay. Feel sweaty and gross.”
She steps in even closer. “You just need a hot shower.”
Yup, she’s absolutely ready to go further.
I feel my face flush, and I’m suddenly very aware of the other people in the room.
Stepping back until my back hits the locker, I give her a smile.
“Yeah, I do need to shower. I’m gonna head home.
Um, do you want to come over later? We could do the art lesson. ”
Sloane returns the smile, but it’s not her megawatt one. It’s too polite. “Sure. I just have some homework to finish and then I’ll come over.”
Her car is still parked outside my house, so I guess she’ll ride back with Becca and take her car home this evening.
“See you later then,” I say, leaning in to peck her lips.
I’ve made it weird.
Snatching up my clothes, I stuff them in my bag and head out. Pia and Todd are already waiting by the car. Of course they’re inhaling each other’s faces. Clearing my throat, I push past them and climb into the front seat. A few minutes later, Pia joins me.
“Everything okay, E?”
Pia has been having sex for seven months. She and Todd waited about three months before they were ready. Yes, Pia talked to me about it. A lot. If anyone can help me, it’s her.
“I think Sloane wants to have sex already,” I blurt. The Alanis Morrisette song gets turned down immediately.
“Whoa, you work fast.” She laughs. “You’ve only had one official date.”
“That’s not the point. Sloane is ready, and I’m not.”
Pia shrugs. “Okay. I can’t imagine Sloane’s got an issue with that.”
“No, but then she keeps saying things, and touching me. Clearly she wants to go further. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“Wow, you’ve skipped straight to the lesbian drama section of your life then, huh?”
“Pia!”
“Oh relax. Fuck, Eden. Of course, she’s saying things and touching you.
Sloane is your girlfriend. She’s got three years of pent-up attraction to deal with.
You’re the same. You get this look in your eyes when you’re thinking about her.
Plus your gaze is all over her hot bod whenever she’s in her cheer uniform. ”
“I…”
“You’re a horny teen. So is Sloane.”
“I’m well aware of that, Pia. That’s not the problem though. Sloane is far more comfortable with the physical side of things. Eventually she’s going to get pissed off with me backing away, right?”
“Not if she’s the person I think she is. Eden, she could have gotten laid many times. Every queer at Holcroft wants her.”
“Is this supposed to be comforting?”
“No, it’s supposed to snap you out of your dumbass brain panic. Point is, Sloane waited. She’s told you she’s ready. Your pussy is the one she wants to play with, E.”
“Pia, in all of our years of friendship, what makes you think talking about my vagina is okay?”
She cackles. “Absolutely nothing. I just love seeing you make that face.”
“So, I’m overthinking?”
We pull up to my house. “Yeah, ya are. Plan a second date. Make out. Talk to her if things go faster than you’re ready for. What you shouldn’t do is what I know you did back in the locker room.”
I scratch the back of my neck, confirming Pia’s suspicions.
“You got all awkward and ran away, right?”
“Possibly.”
She snorts. “Eden. I know you’re swimming in the deep end of the pool with Sloane. But remember you know how to swim, okay?”
I look at her. She looks at me.
I break first. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know, I was trying to come up with something meaningful. Regardless, there is nothing about this you can’t handle. Just stop inviting drama.”
“I’m not!”
She hikes her eyebrows up. “You are the queen of borrowing drama, Eden. Ironic, considering it’s the one thing you want to avoid.”
“Jesus, I’m feeling a little attacked here, buddy.”
She rolls her eyes. Hard. “Any time something happens outside your comfy bubble you get all up in your head and make mountains out of molehills.”
“This is a big deal, P.”
We walk up to my front door. Pia slings her arm over my shoulders, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, considering she’s quite a bit shorter than me.
“I’m not taking away how important losing your V plates is Eden. I’m just saying you shouldn’t build it into something so big it affects your very new relationship with Sloane.”
“I’d just like us to date a little longer. I always pictured my first time with someone I was serious about, ya know?”
“Sure. Makes sense. That’s how I felt too. Todd is my man. I knew quickly he’d be my first. He was the one to slow us down.”
I know Pia was a thirsty fuck. Todd had to practically beat her off with a stick.
“Yeah. I remember. Okay, I need to speak to Sloane.”
“You do that. I’m going to quickly step inside and see if your mom has left any snacks, then I’m going to Todd’s to study. We get distracted when he comes to my place.”
After Pia has pilfered all the snacks and I’ve showered off my well-earned sweat stank, I head downstairs and wait impatiently for Sloane.
The steam helped clear my earlier mind melt.
Pia, in her odd way, made sense. I don’t like that she thinks I borrow drama or whatever, but I can’t say she was totally wrong.
I’ll admit I tend to fall on the more negative side of life when my world gets rocked.
By rocked, I mean slightly changed in any way.
Sloane Bishop liking me, dating me, kissing me, and potentially wanting to touch my private parts, is world-rocking information. Absolute mind-melting material.
But if I act the way I usually do when things freak me out, I could fuck things up with Sloane.
Jenna is sitting at the kitchen island guarding her bowl of cereal like fucking Gollum. No idea why. She’s the only one who eats the sugary crap. As I walk past, I swear she growls. I only wanted a glass of water, for Christ’s sake.
Thankfully, the doorbell goes off before Jenna has the chance to breathe fire. Skirting the beast, I open the door to a nervous looking Sloane. She’s pulling at her sweater sleeves.
“I came on too strong, didn’t I?” she states.
Shit, I’ve made her feel bad. Pulling her through the door, I don’t stop until we’re upstairs in my room. The last thing we need is Jenna interrupting us.
Sloane casts a gaze around my bedroom. I close the door and wait until she looks at me again. “I’m sorry I bolted.”
Sitting on the end of my bed, Sloane starts fiddling with her sleeves again. “No. I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. I can’t help but flirt with you.”
Smiling, I stand in front of her and take her hands. “That’s not the worst thing, Sloane. I just got in my head.”
“Sit?”
It’s nice to be close to her again. I missed out on a decent snogging sesh in the locker room by running away.
“I think we should set some crystal clear boundaries. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to get in your pants every time I touch you or say something flirty.”
Taking her hand, I place a kiss on her knuckles. God, she smells good. “Good plan.”
“So, tell me your boundaries. I think it’s best if I follow your lead.”
Oh crap. Uh, I have no idea what my boundaries are. Did I mention my experience with women is limited? Kissing is as far as I’ve ever gone.
“Hey, stop panicking.” She laughs. “How about I name some things, and you tell me if you’re cool with it.”
“Alright. We can do that.”
Sloane turns to me. “I guess we can add kissing to the list of okay things to do.”
“Definitely. Lots of kissing is fine by me,” I say, leaning in to steal one. We get lost in each other’s lips for a few moments.
She pushes me back but keeps her hands on my chest. She fiddles with the hood strings and nibbles her lips. “Okay, so what else is permitted?”
I swallow hard. Sloane is captivating. “We can touch…things?” I say stupidly. My brain is melting again just thinking about my hands touching parts of her.
She giggles and boops my nose. “Things. Any things in particular?”
“Um. Like, above the waist?”
“Babe, you’re answering with questions again.”
“I know. I’m bad at this.”
Sloane moves until she’s straddling me. “Is this okay?”
All I can do is move my head in the affirmative.
“I really meant it when I said I’m happy to wait until you’re ready, Eden. There’s plenty we can do before having sex. For example, if you’re comfortable, you could touch my breasts.”
My eyes travel down her peachy skin until I’m looking at her chest. I can’t really see anything because of her sweater. It doesn’t matter though. The fact I’m being given permission to touch her boobs is life-altering.
“I can take my sweater off if you want.”
Another nod. She whips it off, revealing a tight t-shirt.
“Oh, the Kooks. Nice.” That’s not exactly what I wanted to say, although I’m still surprised she knows who the Kooks are.
“I’m full of musical surprises,” she murmurs. Her eyes are dark, and she’s staring at my lips. “Now, do you want to go any further, or is this a limit?”
My hands stroke up her firm thighs. My eyes drop from Sloane’s face back to her chest. I’m so excited. “Will you let your hair down?”
I may have had multiple dreams about Sloane and her deliciously golden hair draping over her shoulders. She doesn’t hesitate. I watch her slowly remove the hair bobble. As expected, her locks cascade down, therefore fulfilling my fantasy.
I know she’s letting me set the pace, which I’m grateful for. I know we won’t go any further than me possibly touching her chest. Even that feels like a lot. But…I’m nervous, not stupid. I definitely want to feel her skin under my palms.
Moving my hands from her thighs, I guide them slowly over her ribs, stopping just below my goal. “Is…is this okay?”
Sloane places her hands over mine. “Look at me.”
Both of us are breathing pretty heavily. The second we lock eyes, I forget all about my nerves. Pulling her forward, I take her lips in mine.
We’ve gotten really good at kissing. With her body so close, I start to get excited. My hands travel north of their own volition, and before I know it I’m cupping her tits. And what magnificent tits they are. Holy shit.
“Are you okay?” she whispers.
“This is good. I’m good.”
My answer earns a soft moan as Sloane pushes her tongue into my mouth. The longer we kiss, the more confident I become. I feel her nipples get hard and I want to fist pump the air, because I made that happen.
Sloane pulls back and licks her lips. “I-I think we should maybe stop there for today.”
“Okay.”
The door down the hall opens and slams shut. Jenna. It reminds me that we’re not alone in the house.
Shuffling back a little, Sloane cups my face. “Are you okay with what we did?”
This whole talking about things is nice. “Yeah. That…that was good. Um, was it okay for you?”
Obviously I want to find out if my boob squeezing skills are decent.
“Trust me. I liked it a lot. Would you be okay if I touched you?”
My hands have dropped back to her thighs. “I would, but maybe not right now.”
Can she see how worked up I am?
She smiles at me. “How about we finally have my art lesson then?”
“Okay. We can talk about our second date while you paint.”
And I can take some much-needed time to calm the hell down.