“Don’t be surprised.”
“Fuck,” he groans before swiping a hand through his hair. “I’m the last person you should be with now. My moral standing to take you right home is non-existent.” He begins to create space between us, but I grab his wrist.
“You’re not other guys… you’re…” It trails off, and I lean in closer to him to run my hand along his arm. “Or would you rather I find some other guy?” I challenge, and instantly I see a sort of possessiveness roar in his eyes.
“Hadley,” he warns. “Don’t do that either. It should be with someone who cares.”
I bring his hand that I’m holding by the wrist and plant it on my bare thigh just below the hem of my skirt. “Like you. You care.” His eyes turn tense, and his jaw tightens, but he doesn’t remove his hand. “Connor, I want it to be you,” I whisper my insistence.
“Don’t throw this offer at me, Sprinkles.” His voice has an edge to it.
I lean in to close our distance, and it can’t be my imagination that I feel his pulse quickening. “Why? Because it’s enticing?” I husk then brush my lips along his jawline.
“You’re not just some hookup,” he whispers as he brings the fingers on his other hand to splay against my throat to hold me in place. His gesture is demanding yet soft.
“How so?”
Connor lifts the corner of his mouth as the fingers on my thigh begin to swivel a lazy design on my leg, as if he is contemplating a few ideas, and my whole body tingles while his lips remain nearly touching my own. “Don’t make me say it.” His voice sounds desperate.
The last few minutes have proven that my attraction is not one-sided. We’ve grown up with one another, at a distance yet so close too. And it seems we both want the same thing.
“Fuck me, I shouldn’t be doing this here with you. You deserve more.” He seems to be talking to himself.
He grabs the blanket from the side, and I have a wary look.
It causes him to laugh. “Relax, it’s in here because I went with some friends to the beach.” Ah, so not for another conquest, except he just highlighted that I’m not just anyone. Nerves hit me, but I feel comfortable and ready.
He lies on his side while I’m on my back. “Have you really thought about me like this?” I hear vulnerability in my voice.
A smirk forms on his mouth, but it’s an earnest and natural look. “I have. Too many times to count.”
I try to control my smile, and we take a few seconds of staring at one another, soaking in our realization that after years of knowing one another, here we are together in a different manner. My fingers begin to work at my clothes, but he stops me.
“You’re going to have to tell me if I’m not gentle enough or I need to slow down. Don’t lie to me. You understand?” He’s insistent.
I nod once, and he does something that surprises me; he kisses my cheek so tenderly, like the time he walked me home once. Then he peels off his hoodie and shirt, placing his balled-up clothes near my head before digging into his wallet for a condom. He helps slide my panties off while I peel off my sweater, and I lie back across the seats.
His lips are already trailing my body, heading lower to my most intimate spot. I shiver from the thought of what he is about to do.
“I know this is only a favor.” My breath shakes as I try to reassure him as he hovers over me, but I’m desperately wishing for more.
Connor glances up before he returns to a higher destination, where he hooks his finger under my chin to guide my eyes to meet his. “It’s a little more than that. A lot more than that.” He dips his head down to capture my lips again. “You’re giving me something, and I will never let you forget it. You’re not just anyone. You were always going to be more than something to me.”
His words make my heart soar. I’ve been hoping for the moment we would confess our feelings, and now it’s a reality.
Shaking my head and throwing water on my face, I do my best to forget the way he kept his promise to go gentle and slow. Urged me to look at him and claw his back when pain hit, and his answer was to distract me by kissing me deeper, to the point that I felt he had control of my breath and body. After, he ditched his party and opted to lie with me for what felt like ages. He covered me with his hoodie, stroking my hair with his fingers as he laid on his side, reminding me that I was okay, before we reminisced about many things growing up as next-door neighbors and our future careers. We unleashed a promising start with one another.
Connor told me that we should see one another again. His parents had a relationship when we were that age, and it made him believe we could have been possible. He showered me with kisses every chance he got. It felt like I was on top of the world.
But then the next morning, he appeared in my room completely different, eager to find his hoodie, and he made his thoughts clear.
“We were a mistake.
Forget last nightever happened, we will never be anything.”
It’s been vile hatred since then.
Patting my cheek, I blow out a breath and throw on a hotel robe. Bracing myself, I know I need to face the man in the other room.
