Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
piper
Holy shit. It’s the first thought that runs through my mind when his mouth meets mine. He actually did it. I didn’t think he would. Probably not smart on my part. Telling him to kiss me was like waving a big flag daring him to do it. What the hell was I thinking? Easy, I wasn’t.
It doesn’t take me long to ignore every thought running through my head about it being a bad idea. Deep down, I knew him acting on the request would answer my question about how he felt about it.
The mirror is the only thing holding me up at this point, and I hope like hell it’s strong because he leans closer into me. It’s not until I realize his arm is wrapped around my waist that we’re no longer holding hands. When did that happen?
Worrying about that right now isn’t something I need to do. Not when I’m in his arms as more than a friendly hug, or cuddle. No, the way his body is pressed against mine, and I can feel him through his jeans, tells me everything I need to know.
I open one eye and can’t stop from moaning in his mouth.
In the mirror opposite us, I can see everything, and damn, I didn’t think I’d find that a turn on.
Him pressed against me, and I can’t go anywhere.
Not that I want to, but the visual will keep me up for nights.
I squeeze my eyes shut to keep me in the moment.
My arms snake around his neck and pull him closer, deepening the kiss. He tastes like the cotton candy we shared earlier, and nothing has ever tasted so sweet.
His hand slides into my back pocket, finding any way he can to envelope every part of my body.
He pulls away and I miss the feel of his lips on mine. He whispers in my ear, his lips a soft touch. “Is that proof enough?”
All I can do is nod. My voice finally comes back to me. “Yes. I was, uh, actually going to tell you I have feelings for you, but I chickened out.”
He leans his forehead against mine. “Why didn’t you say something instead of making me prove it to you?”
“It was the only way I could think of to make sure I was reading the situation right.” I shrug and look down.
He slides a finger under my chin and lifts until my eyes meet his. “You never have to play games with me.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “I’ve been yours.” A kiss on the cheek. “Since we were thirteen.”
He lips meet mine once again. He’s taking his time making sure his actions hold meaning. I love him for that, but I’ve waited so long for this, and I’m done being patient.
My tongue traces a line along the seam of his lips and he opens wider. Our tongues dancing. He’s no longer blocking my exit, and with both hands under my ass, lifts me until him and the wall are the only things holding me up.
I cling to him. Not because I’m afraid I’ll fall, but because I worry, he’ll come to his senses and pull away.
His mouth leaves mine and he trails kisses down my neck.
Chancing another peek over his shoulder and this may be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen or done.
Mirrors in my room are an investment I need to make.
Right now, we’re like teenagers without a care in the world. Living in our own bubble nothing else can penetrate.
The music switches to another song and I swear I hear mumbling coming from the entrance. Beau doesn’t seem to hear anything because he’s gone from kissing my neck to my chest, making his way to the other side.
“Mom,” a kid’s voice breaks through the music. I knew I heard something.
“Did you hear that?” My voice is a whisper in the overly loud space. I don’t think he can hear me because he only leans in closer, marking every spot of me he can reach.
A thud sounds in the distance this time. I tap on Beau’s shoulder until I have his attention and his face is level with mine again. “I think someone is coming.”
“How can you tell? It’s so loud in here.” He leans into me, pressing my back harder against the mirror.
As his mouth moves closer to mine, I see a shoe out of the corner of my eye. I drop my legs and push Beau away from me. Not hard, but enough to let him know we aren’t alone.
Beau runs a hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it. I really wish he wouldn’t. A kid comes all the way into view. “Sorry, kid, this is a dead end.”
“Thanks.” The child waves and heads back in the direction he came.
“That was a close call.” I do my best to make sure my clothes are straightened out. The last thing I want to do is walk out of here looking like a hot mess.
“Yeah.” He glances toward the opening before giving me one last kiss. “Wanna get out of here?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I grab his hand and lead him out of the hall.
“What’s your rush?”
“What do you think?” I glance back to make sure he’s following me. He is, but his eyes are on my ass. Has he always done that and I’ve never noticed? It’s possible. All this time I thought he didn’t feel anything for me. Most people aren’t that oblivious, except me.
“I agree, though funhouses may be my new favorite attraction at these fairs.”
Those are words I never thought I’d hear him say. “Oh yeah?”
“Yep.” I can feel him move closer to me. “It’s now where we shared our first real kiss.”
“Technically that was at your house.”
“That doesn’t count.” He stops me before I can take another step. “We didn’t know what we do now. It makes all the difference.”
If he keeps saying things like that, we’ll never make it out of here. “Why are there so many freaking hallways? This place doesn’t look that big from the outside.”
“It’s not.” He steps in front of me and tilts his head to the side. “That sounds like laughter. I bet we can find our way out of here if we follow it.”
“Lead the way.” It’s probably the kid from a few minutes ago. But I’ll do anything to get out of this attraction and fair. I no longer feel like being here. There are other things I’d rather be doing.
A few moments later we’re climbing stairs, walking across a bridge that looks like it’s tilted, and I can see the lights from a ride in the short distance. We’re almost there.
As soon as we get close to the exit, bubbles pour out of the doorway. We’re covered from head to toe, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I don’t remember bubbles when we were kids. It must be something new.
Beau pulls me into his arms and kisses me…in front of everyone. He has no qualms about letting the world know how he feels. When he pulls back, he has the biggest smile I’ve seen on him since we graduated high school. “Your place or mine?”
“Definitely yours. It’s closer.”
“Good choice.” He moves his hand to mine and interlocks our fingers. This feels right. Even the few times I’ve held hands with dates, it never felt like this. Like us against the world. It’s nice knowing I have someone in my corner. Even better, he knows me inside and out.
I guess he was right that night on his couch.
There’s something between us, and if I’m honest, it’s been there since we were young.
I was too busy doing everything I could to bury those feelings so I wouldn’t screw up anything.
That’s probably not a healthy way to deal with emotions, but I didn’t want to put a wedge in our friendship.
Other than my siblings, he’s the only person I trust completely.
Here’s to hoping things go well with us.
The drive to Beau’s house is quiet. Neither of us wants to break the easy silence we’re sharing. Both of us are probably running a million different scenarios through our heads.
Despite that, the energy buzzing throughout the car is palpable. Every part of me wants to touch him. Kiss him and mark him as mine…finally.
We pull into his driveway in record time.
I’m pretty sure he broke some speed limit laws to get us here as fast as possible.
As soon as the car is in park and turned off, he rushes around to my side of the car and pulls the door open.
It’s one of my favorite things about him.
He’s always such a gentleman. Except back in the funhouse. I’ve never seen that side of him.
Before he has a chance to close the door behind me, I’m wrapping my arms around his neck. The need to be close to him is overwhelming, but I’m going with the flow, and this feels right.
I walk him backwards, and he closes the car door with a quick kick. He trips as we continue the path to his front door, and we both almost fall.
“Maybe we should get inside first.” He laughs as he straightens us back up. “Otherwise, we might end up breaking something and that would be a less fun ending to the night.”
“Fine,” I pout. He’s right. It’s dark out here since he didn’t turn on the porch light. I don’t think he realized how long we’d be gone. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think we’d stay until after dark either. We were having fun, though. There was no reason to cut the evening short.
He fishes his keys out of his pocket and quickly unlocks the door. He pulls me in as soon as it’s open and slams it shut behind us. “Now, where were we?”
My arms go around his neck and he lifts me up until my legs wrap around his waist. Good. The last thing I want to do is trip over something in his hallway. It takes us less than a minute to get to his bedroom.
It’s dark aside from the soft glow of his alarm clock. I’ve been in here hundreds of times, but tonight is different and will shift everything between us. For once, I’m no longer thinking with my head and relying solely on my heart. If it comes back to bite me in the ass, so be it.
He lays me down on the bed without a word. The action so sweet and meticulous unlike the way I practically attacked him in the driveway.
“We can stop now, if you want.” His words are loud in his quiet house, even though it’s barely a whisper.
“I-I don’t want to stop.” We can figure out relationship stuff tomorrow. Tonight, I want to be wrapped in his arms and feel him all over me.
“Okay.” He reaches for my shorts, slowly undoing the button and zipper.
Shivers course through my body at the sensation as he slides them down.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen between us.
Harboring a crush for my best friend for over a decade and nothing happen, makes this moment that much more special.
Once my shorts and panties are off, he places soft kisses along my thighs. Now more than ever, I wish he’d stop being so careful and sweet. It’s one of the things I love about him, but I need him to pick up the pace.
I prop myself up on my elbows and watch as his tongue swirls around my clit and a finger slips inside. He doesn’t have to worry about how ready I am because I have been since he pinned me against the mirror in the funhouse. I fall back as he goes deeper.
Normally, I’m the type of person to take control in the bedroom, but I feel safe with Beau. He has always been my sanctuary and being intimate with him is no different.
His tongue moves faster and his finger matches the pace. My body lifts the closer I am to release, and his free hand slides over my waist to hold me down. The sensation is too much and before long I’m biting back a scream.
He leans back with a smug smirk on his face. Yes, he was right about the chemistry between us and that I had feelings about him, but damn…he doesn’t have to look so happy about it.
It takes him less than a minute to stand and strip away his clothes. “Is this still, okay?”
“Mhmm.” It’s all I can manage right now. My shirt gets stuck in my hair as I try to pull it off while lying down.
Beau reaches over me and it sounds like a drawer is sliding over. I hear the foil rip and I’m glad he’s at least prepared. I know I’m sure as hell not.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you.” His lips crash into mine. Moments later, I feel him enter me as he deepens this kiss. Little does he know I’ve probably wanted him just as long.
Our bodies move in sync as if this is the way it’s always supposed to have been. I can tell he’s close, but he’s waiting for me to tip over the edge. He slides a hand between us, rubbing my clit with his thumb and that’s all the encouragement I need.
I cling to him as if my very being depends on it as wave after wave of pleasure courses through my body. He follows shortly after.
He doesn’t fall on top of me the way some men I’ve been with do. Instead, he slowly pulls out before standing. “Give me just a sec, I’ll be right back.”
I watch as he heads toward the bathroom. He’s gone for a couple of minutes before coming back. He has a towel in his hand and instead of handing it to me, he cleans me up. The towel is warm and damp.
Clearly, I’ve been dating the wrong guys in my life. I’m lucky if they even hand me a towel most of the time.
“Thanks.” I whisper into the quiet room.
“If you want to take a shower, you know where everything is.” His smile is soft and unsure this time. Afraid I’m going to bolt now that the adrenaline has worn off.
“I’m good. But give me a few minutes.” I grab a blanket he keeps on a chair by his bed and wrap myself in it. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving.
Everything about tonight was perfect, and forced me to act on my feelings. If he hadn’t said anything, I would have kept pretending like I only saw him as a friend. But he did, and that led us to now. This moment will forever alter our relationship.