Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Zara
For a quick second, I think that maybe my soul detached from my body, and it’s floating above us, staring at Kyle as he is taking his… Oh my God, he just took his penis out of his pants. All the pleasure I felt only moments ago is turning into panic.
I wish I could jump up from his lap, but my legs feel like gelatin. My heart is beating so fast, it’s sucking all the air around me, and now I am a bit lightheaded.
Whatever Kyle just did to me was… I have no words. I can’t describe it, no matter how hard I try. No one has ever made me feel this way, and I am a little scared.
To say that I don’t have any experience is an understatement. I don’t even have much experience in kissing, which would be why I constantly followed his lead when he welded out mouths together. I was worried that I’d do something wrong.
And now, I watch as he is stripping practically naked. In my living room. On my couch.
“K-Kyle,” I manage to stutter. “You need to stop.”
To his credit, he freezes in his tracks.
If my head wasn’t such a jumbled mess, I’d laugh at the picture he makes.
The pants and underwear are pulled low, under his butt.
He has a condom, I assume, in one hand while he is holding himself with the other.
His eyes are wide and confused as he stares at me, waiting for an explanation.
I jump off the couch, ready to put some distance between us. I remain standing with my back to him, unable to make any eye contact.
“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,” I call over my shoulder.
I hear some shuffling, which I hope it means that he is pulling his clothes back on.
“No, that’s alright,” he says.
There’s something like a painful groan coming from him, but I am scared to turn around and check what the problem is.
“I get women coming on top of me with minimal contact quite often.”
He tries to make it sound like a joke, but I have a feeling that is something he is very good at.
With I sigh, I push both hands in my hair, wondering how to get out of this mess. I suddenly realize that the buttons on my pajama top are missing.
“Oh my goodness,” I mumble to myself as I rush to look for them. “This is crazy.”
I jump when I feel Kyle’s breath on the side of my face. “If it helps any, you are a very good kisser.”
My head whips around. “Really?”
That is something I have never been told before.
Not to say that I kissed a lot, but it’s never been this intense and soul consuming.
Kissing Kyle was an out of body experience.
I don’t even understand what just happened on this couch, but I am pretty sure that he gave me an orgasm just by kissing me.
My first orgasm ever.
“You should go.”
Taking a few steps back, I put some much needed distance between us. I am even more attracted to Kyle now than I was initially, and it scares me to death. It’s like he put a spell on me. He is not the type I would envision any of my firsts with.
He now gives me a smirk, like he can read my mind, and he is challenging me to accept his advances.
“I came here to talk, Zara.”
The way he stares me down, running his eyes all over my body, makes me blush to the roots of my hair. He has this incredible charisma, something that comes naturally to him. He is not trying to hide his true self, which makes him even more attractive to me.
“I know this whole thing is weird,” he continues. “Me showing up here… It was not planned. I’m not a stalker, or any kind of weirdo, I swear.”
I cross my arms over my chest, more aware than ever about the state of my clothes.
Swallowing hard, I open and close my mouth a couple of times. “I don’t know what to say.”
Kyle throws his arms out and shrugs. “Okay, maybe I am a weirdo, because who just shows up like this at someone’s house, right? I mean, we just met tonight, and you don’t know me at all. I could be a really bad man.” His eyes look around. “Like a serial killer, or… or… or…”
He looks so adorable in his disheveled way, with the hair all over the place, loose strands in his eyes. He pushes it all back, remaining with his hands in his hair while letting out a long breath of air.
“I’m an idiot,” he concludes. “I don’t know how else to explain any of this. It’s just…”
He stares at me, no words passing the lips he just kissed me into oblivion with. The air is lodged in the back of my throat. I should probably tell him that everything he’s done since we met at the restaurant a few hours ago is so inappropriate. But I can’t do that because I liked it so much.
“I want to kiss you again,” he says from out of nowhere. He still hasn’t moved from where he’s standing in front of me, and his hands are still buried into his hair. “I want to do so many things to you.”
My mouth goes dry. I can’t respond because my ability to form coherent sentences is gone.
“I need to leave.”
His eyes look crazed. He starts walking backwards, but since he is not familiar with the lay of my living room, he ends up bumping into the coffee table, then a chair, before he glances back to make sure the path is clear.
He makes it close to the door, and I’m pretty sure he is about to turn around and walk right out. I can’t tell if it’s relief or disappointment that’s currently flooding my body.
My eyes fill with tears that are totally out of frustration. I don’t know how to tell him that I’d like for him to stay longer. To talk…
I am so deep into my thoughts, I have a hard time processing what’s happening right in front of me, even though my eyes are wide open.
Kyle touches the doorknob, pressing on it as if in slow motion. He pulls on the door, and all signs point in the direction of him walking out. But then, he lets go and stares down at his feet. I start counting the seconds.
One…
Two…
I don’t make it to three when Kyle spins around, rushing at me like both of our lives depend on it. He cups my face much in the same way that he did earlier, in the way that makes me melt at his feet.
“One more kiss,” he whispers against my lips. “Please.”
Feeling more confident in my kissing abilities, I lift myself on the tip of my toes and place my hands on his shoulders.
“I would be really disappointed if you didn’t kiss me goodbye.”
That is all he needs to hear from me. He fuses our mouths together at the same time that he pulls on my head for me to come up higher. That part is kind of impossible unless he can just pick up my head, then pop it back on top of my neck. Preferably without killing me in the process.
Since my thoughts took a bit of a morbid turn, I focus on shutting my brain off. This kiss is the most important thing right now.
“You taste so good,” Kyle groans. “I want to taste you all over…”
My fingers clench onto his shoulders at hearing those words. They go like an electric shock through my entire body. If he didn’t have a good grip on me, I’d be dropping to the floor.
He continues kissing me, sucking at my lips and tongue, licking at my teeth and every part of the inside of my mouth he can reach. His hands squeeze my cheeks just a little tighter with every swipe.
This is such a surreal experience, I don’t know how to process it. Is this what people feel when they fall in love? No, I decide in an instant. This is pure infatuation, I am sure of it. But…
I can’t deal with the thought of him stopping.
By the time he allows us both to breathe, it’s like we ran a marathon. The blood rushes through my veins, and I have never felt more alive.
“This is crazy,” I whisper in disbelief. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Kyle sort of freezes, and he drops his hands to my waist, his eyes widening in shock. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’ve never brought a stranger to my apartment,” I explain. “I’ve never felt compelled to…”
His body sags his body in relief. “I thought you meant something else.”
I frown in confusion, wondering what he’s talking about.
“Technically,” he laughs, “you didn’t bring me home. I came here on my own. So your record is intact.”
I stare at him, hearing what he just said, but unable to respond.
This visceral reaction I have every time Kyle looks at me scares me a little.
My attraction to him can’t be mistaken for anything else other than what it is.
But there’s also a lot of passion, and that is new to me. His kisses are… out of this world.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks.
My brain doesn’t work. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes” he chuckles. “The day that starts after today. Tomorrow.”
With my hands still on his shoulders, I flex my fingers, squeezing and releasing a couple of times.
“I know you work,” Kyle comments. “And so do I,” he assures me with a smirk. “But I would love to meet you for lunch somewhere.”
“Lunch?” I ask in disbelief, I don’t even know why, but he takes it in stride.
“That’s the meal people usually have midday. There’s breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, and dinner in the early evening.”
“Very funny.” I roll my eyes at him, but I can’t help the smile forming in the corner of my mouth.
His face becomes serious. “I am a very funny guy.” That only makes me burst into a fit of giggles.
With both hands still on my hips, he gives me a quick squeeze and pulls my lower half into him. My amusement dies when I feel the bulge in his pants. It scares me and excites me all at the same time. I can’t believe I actually got to see that part of him earlier. I wonder if I’ll ever see it again.
I swallow hard and try not to think too much about that. It’s anxiety inducing at this point.
“What do you say?”
I stare at him in surprise. I already forgot what we were talking about. This is not me at all.
“About what?” I ask.
“Lunch tomorrow,” he patiently reminds me. “You pick the place.”
“Uh, what day is it tomorrow?”
“Wednesday,” comes the prompt reply.
“Oh…” My eyes drop to this point on his neck where I can see his heart beating. “I already have plans for lunch.”
“Why don’t you cancel and meet with me instead?” he says in a teasing tone, but I can tell he means it.
“I couldn’t.” I shake my head at him. “It’s a weekly date that I never miss. For anyone,” I make sure to add.
Kyle’s brow furrows. “A date?”
“Yes, with my brother,” I explain. “I never miss it, no matter what.” I think about it for a second. “Well, only of he needs to cancel it.”
Kyle looks relieved by my answer. “How come he can cancel but not you?”
“Owen is a firefighter.” I straighten my shoulders with pride as I tell him about my brother. “He needs to cancel if there’s a call around the time we’re supposed to meet.”
“I see,” he nods in understanding. “And a very badass job your brother has.”
“He is amazing,” I agree.
We remain in silence, staring at each other, wondering what is about to happen next. I am silently wishing that he starts kissing me again. But I want it to be with the same passion as before. I liked that. A lot.
“How about breakfast?”
I almost want to jump up and down with excitement when I suggest that. I’ve never had a breakfast date before, and I feel giddy with it.
The look on Kyle’s face suggests that is not the best idea. “Breakfast?”
“Yes!” Then I decide to give him a taste of his own medicine. “It’s the first meal of the day. Before lunch, which we all know is at midday.”
“There is no way I can be up that early, babe. I’ll be up all night.”
I don’t get it. “You work in shifts?’
“No,” Kyle shakes his head. “I make my own schedule. But I like working at night the best. Creativity flows.”
“What creativity?” I ask just as my phone starts ringing.
I want to go get it, but I don’t want to let go of this man either. Unfortunately, that’s when his own cell rings, and he lets go of my hips. I am disappointed with how quickly he does that.
Kyle pulls out the phone from the pocket of his pants and frowns at whatever he sees on there. Since he let go of me, I am free to go check on my own phone, but I worry that he’ll walk out the door as soon as I am out of sight.
“Do you need to get that?” he asks when my phone stops ringing but starts again almost right away.
“I probably should.”
My voice comes out weird, whispery and confused. I take a step back, having every intention of checking on my phone. I am still not fast enough, though, and I realize that it stopped again. And now it’s ringing for the third time.
“It has to be important,” I tell Kyle and finally walk over to where I dropped my phone earlier. My eyes widen in surprise when I see who’s calling, and I suddenly feel weird about answering while I gave a man standing in my apartment.
“You’re not going to answer?”
I jump when Kyle’s voice sounds right next to me. I guess he followed me into the room.
“It’s my mother.” I turn my phone around to show him the screen, like that should mean something for him.
Kyle grins at me. I guess he finds all this a lot more amusing than it is, especially when the phone starts ringing for the fourth time in a row, all because I am too slow at answering.
“You want me to get it for you?” he asks.
I about faint when he just takes the phone from my hand. I watch in horror when he slides the bar over and brings the phone to his ear.
“This is Zara’s phone. Kyle speaking,” he says in a way too cheery voice.
I have never wished for the floor to open up and swallow me whole as much as I do in this moment.