Embrace the Moment

by Andrea Michelle

  I’m not so innocent, but she doesn’t know that. “Well thank you, I guess.”

  After repacking my suitcase to meet Emily’s approval, we drop off Tink to Joey and head to breakfast with the boys. “So, who will you be spending the weekend with, Em? Collin or Brandt?” I ask her as we drive.

  She side glances at me with a frown. “Sheesh, you make me sound like a slut.”

  Now I’m frowning. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I’m genuinely curious.”

  She lights a cigarette, rolling the windows down. “I am a slut. And honestly, I don’t know. Brandt only calls when he wants some. We don’t go out on dates, and we really don’t have much of a relationship. I think he is too old for me.”

  “Yeah, but he likes you and you like him. At least, it seemed like that.”

  She laughs and takes a drag. “Honey, that is called lust covered glasses. He doesn’t like me. He likes what we do together. I mean I made out with his sister and he didn’t care.”

  I’m in the middle of putting lip-gloss on my lips and straight up jab the sucker at my nose when she says that. “YOU WHAT?”

  She glances over at me. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a lesbian or anything. She kissed me, and I kind of let her, that’s all. It’s not a big deal. I’ve kissed you.”

  “Um, it’s a huge freaking deal because Rebel is a lesbian. And for the record, I kissed you because I was wasted.”

  She huffs, “Rebel’s not a lesbian, Riley. We’ve talked about this. She likes guys, too. In fact, she prefers sex with men and foreplay with woman.” She explains it like I don’t understand bi-sexuality. I get it.

  “Are you jealous that you’re not my only girl?” She jokes, laughing at my face all scrunched up.

  “Hell no. I still can’t believe I kissed you in the first place. But wow...you made out with Rebel. You didn’t like...you know...do the foreplay stuff like you just said?” Her eyes immediately flick away from mine. Oh, my God!

  “YOU DID?”

  We pull into the parking lot and notice Josh and Collin aren’t here yet. Thank goodness, because I’m not done with this conversation.

  She flicks her cigarette out the window and turns in her seat. “Look, it’s not like that. But yes, I fooled around with her. Brandt walked in and didn’t even blink an eye.”

  I swallow hard and try to gather myself, but I’m a little shocked. I had no idea. It’s like she is this whole other person I don’t know. “O-kay. And what about Collin?”

  “What about him?”

  “Was that lust covered glasses, or an alcohol induced mistake, or something you want to explore more?”

  She sighs, “I don’t know. Collin and I are kind of friends, and we talk, but he’s a douche. I mean, look who he hooks up with besides me, of course? He’s not exactly boyfriend material. I’m not girlfriend material, either, though. Did you know that his tongue is not the only thing pierced on his body?”

  I try to think of what else could be pierced and then...“No? Really? His junk is pierced.”

  “Really.” She proceeds to take out her phone and show me a picture of his piercing.

  “Oh, my God. I didn’t want to see that, Em. How am I supposed to go eat breakfast with him, with that that image in my brain? Do I even want to know why you have a picture of it on your phone?”

  She laughs and shakes her head. “I didn’t make you look. I’m not one to think penises are cute or anything, but that one has a little magic in it.”

  Dear Lord. Of course, now I’m thinking about Josh’s magic stick and all the ways I want to see it again. Shit. I turn away from her just as 23, comes on the radio. She blares it, and we hop of out of her car and dance like crazy lunatics in the parking lot.

  CHAPTER 18

  A weekend—two whole days with her in a hotel room—the many things I think about it are endless. Collin doesn’t know it yet, but he will not be my roommate. I have other plans, and they involve a brunette with eyes that captivate me.

  We pull up to the pancake house and laugh hard as we see these two crazies dancing in the parking lot.

  “Damn dude, your girl has some moves,” Collin says from the passenger seat.

  Riley and Emily are both shaking their asses—hands in the air, hair flying around. It’s actually refreshing to see Riley be so carefree. “It seems Emily does, too,” I say gauging his reaction.

  He just watches them, or Emily. “Yeah, she does.” Hmmm...that is interesting. I think Collin has a slight crush.

  We park on the opposite side of them and climb out of the truck. “Party at the pancake house,” Collin says joining their shenanigans. Emily carries on her little show, but Riley freezes and locks eyes with me. It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since last night.

  She walks slowly to where I’m standing against Emily’s car just watching her. She really does have moves. She stops right in front of me, looking up into my eyes and biting that fucking lip. God, that drives me insane. Every time she does it, I want to pull it between my own teeth. “Hey,” she says in a tiny voice.

  “Hey.” I tilt my head and grab a curl to twirl around my finger. We stare at each other for a solid minute without words—just breathing. “You are so beautiful,” I tell her breaking our trance-like state.

  She says, “And you are...you are...fuck it.” She crashes her lips to mine. Her hands immediately tangle in my hair and my hands roam her body.

  I hear whistles, snickers as well as a few scoffs. We’re in a very public parking lot, in front of a very crowded pancake house. She pushes off my chest, “Sorry, I um...sorry.” She blushes and hides her face in my chest.

  I rub her back and whisper in her ear, “Never apologize for doing what you want. If you want me, say so. If you need to kiss me, do it. Never second-guess what you want or need with me. Okay?”

  “M’hm.”

  “Let’s go eat, bitches. I’m starved,” Em says, hopping up next to us.

  Collin clears his throat. “Looks like Riley is too.”

  “Oh God,” she says, hiding her face even further in my chest.

  My laugh causes her to look up at me with those crimson cheeks of beauty. “My fave shade,” I grip her chin and kiss her colored cheeks.

  We’re in Collin’s 1970 Challenger instead of my truck. He wanted to drive, and I like the backseat—very comfortable. Trust me, I know, because I’m in it with a beautiful girl. She’s lying back on the seat with her head in my lap, her eyes shut. One hand is holding mine on top of her stomach. I’m running my fingers through her hair and tracing the features of her face with my eyes. She really is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life. From the pretty pink lips she covered with berry Chapstick, to the cheeks that blush so easily, to the small nose that gets graced with light freckles during the summer, to those eyes. Jesus, her eyes have always been my very favorite part of her. She hides so much behind them, but I see it. I always see it.

  Those very blue/green eyes snap open and lock with mine when Bloodstream comes on the radio. Emily turns it up, “I so love this song. His voice is so damn sexy.” Neither Riley nor I reply. Speech is impossible when the images of what we did to this song fill my head. Her eyes flutter and glass over. She bites her lip and her breathing changes. She is remembering it, too. I can’t breathe. I just want to touch her—to feel her respond to me touching her again. She has her knees pulled up in the seat, and I trail my index finger from her knee down to the edge of her barely there shorts and back up. Her skin breaks out in goose bumps and she shivers. My eyes never leave hers. She reaches her hand up and traces my bottom lip. I harden instantly, and her eyes widen. Damn. Good thing her head is covering my lap. Bad thing is her head is in my lap—not really helping my problem here. I’m so turned on. Fuck!

  So, about that backseat—it’s a small confined place—and all I can smell is her jasmine and vanilla scented lotion. I’m fucked and not in the way I’m imagining in this backseat.

  Luckily, Collin
exits the highway and stops for gas, because I’m struggling here with her in this tight space.

  I thought I’d be safe from temptation for at least a few minutes, but then she buys a fruit punch Icee, blow pops and skittles. Good grief, I’m in a lust bubble of desire. We’re standing outside of the car just talking. I’m half listening to all of her words because I’m watching her sip from her straw and then lick her lips, which are now tinted red from her drink. Opening her bag of skittles, she laughs at something Em says and for the life of me, I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to taste the rainbow. And so I do. I grab her drink and candy, passing it to Em who says, “What the...” I don’t listen. I grab Riley’s face and taste every crevice of her mouth. The fruity taste lingering all over her tongue and sending my senses into overdrive.

  “Holy shit! Collin, what are we going to do with these two?” Emily asks.

  I hear him laugh. “Uh, I guess move out of the way? Wait in the car? Give em’ dollar bills? Hell if I know.”

  Her hands are in my hair, pulling as always. I have her pressed into the car door, my hands holding both of her cheeks in my palms. I glide my hand to the nape of her neck and into her hair as we deepen the kiss. I don’t know how long we kiss, just that I feel better once we do. I release her and step back as she lifts her hands to touch her lips. She always does that. It’s like the feeling left on them shocks her. She just stands there, dazed for a few seconds—staring at me. Collin leans out of his window. “Y’all coming, or you gonna stand out there eye and mouth-fucking all damn day?”

  Riley blushes and gives him a look, and then gives me a look. Em has her door wide open for us to climb into the backseat. I enjoy the view as Riley climbs in first. Emily smacks me on the back of my head. “Hey, what was that for?”

  “For molesting my friend in public, not once but twice today. Jesus, you two are like dogs in heat or something. You seriously need to do it already.”

  I point my thumb in her direction and look in the car to Riley. “Baby, do you feel molested or just in heat? Should we go do it already?” Her eyes narrow and she yanks me in by my shirt.

  “Shut up and just get in the damn car. Besides, if I remember correctly I molested you this morning.” She grins and blows me a kiss, then leans over the console. “Now, can I have my drink and candy back? I need some sugar.”

  Collin coughs, “You mean you didn’t get enough of that, just now?”

  “Ugh, fuck you.” She pouts and sits back in her seat, sipping on her drink.

  We stop for lunch as our last stop. It’s pretty obvious to both Riley and I that something may be brewing between Collin and Emily. They are oddly enough...cute together. Is that even something I should be thinking? Because if he fucks it up, then it could make things a little awkward with our group, and knowing Collin, he will fuck this up. Then again, Emily is like the female version of him, so we may be okay here. One positive of them maybe liking each other, it will make this sharing a room switch much easier.

  We’re back in the car, and Riley is bent over in her seat digging through her purse, sucking on a fucking blow pop. I now believe that she is intentionally torturing me. I’m rubbing the skin exposed on her lower back. She tenses, releases the sucker on a pop, lifts her head and looks over the console to Collin. “Er, um...I’m not judging here, and being as though you have handcuffs hanging from your rear view mirror, and I’ve seen you in flirt mode, this shouldn’t surprise me, but seriously?”

  I lift a brow wondering what the hell she is talking about. Collin does, too. He glances over his shoulder. “What?”

  She reaches under his seat and pulls out a red lacy thong. “This.” She has them pinched in her fingers like she may catch something. Her nose is all scrunched up. It’s adorable. Holy shit. She found panties in his back seat.

  “Shit. That’s where those went.” Collin’s eyes flick to Emily’s briefly and then away.

  Riley notices because she looks between the two of them as Emily snatches the thong and throws them into the front. “Such a pig,” Emily mutters under her breath. Nothing further explained from either of them. Hmmm.

  Riley turns to look at me with a curious expression, mouth agape. She mouths, “Oh, my God.” It just makes me laugh. Obviously, their hook up wasn’t a one-time thing.

  “You did at least clean the seats, right? Cuz we’re like sitting on these.” Riley asks, and I cough a laugh.

  Collin looks over the seats at us, and then to Emily as he shrugs and looks back to the road. “Who said I fucked in the backseat? I may have just been eating a delicious snack. The only mess that makes is on my face.”

  Emily curses and Riley sputters, “Holy fuck.”

  “Nope, the holy fucks happen on Sundays.” Collin retorts and earns a punch in the arm.

  I am literally dying in laughter at Riley’s face. I don’t miss the daggers Emily shoots at Collin, or the smirk he is wearing across his face. Collin has always been and always will be crass.

  The rest of the ride is pretty uneventful with the exception of me watching Riley suck on the damn lollipop and remembering the way her mouth felt. My imagination runs wild. She isn’t paying any attention, though. She is apparently not realizing at all what she is doing to me. She is too enraptured into the conversation Emily and Collin are having, or the flirty looks they keep sharing.

  She pulls out her phone and sends me a text. I give her a puzzled look. I’m sitting right next to her, and she texts me?

  Riley: DO YOU HEAR HER USING HER SUGARY SWEET VOICE ON HIM?

  Me: YES, DOES IT BOTHER YOU?

  Riley: IT’S JUST WEIRD, RIGHT? I AM POSITIVE HE JUST ADMITTED TO EATING HER OUT IN THE BACKSEAT OF THIS CAR. DID YOU SEE HER FACE? THOSE WERE HER PANTIES. OMG.

  I read the text and imagine eating her. Good God, I need out of this car. “Are y’all sexting each other back there?” Emily asks. Huh? Now, why didn’t I think of that? That would have made this portion of the trip eventful for sure. Definitely wouldn’t have helped my problem of wanting Riley something fierce, though.

  Riley throws her phone in her purse. Evidently, we are done texting. “Busted. I can’t help it. Ever since this morning when I saw a certain pic, I’ve felt antsy,” she replied.

  Emily starts laughing, and I give her a WTF look. We were far from sexting. “What pic?” I ask.

  Riley shrugs and leans into my side. “Oh, it’s nothing. Emily just showed me a pic of—,”

  Emily lunges over the center console and covers Riley’s mouth. Riley is laughing and mumbling into her hand. Emily is glaring at her with warning eyes. Now, I’m really curious. Collin smacks Emily’s ass and makes her squeal over her shoulder.

  “Get your sweet ass back in the fucking seat before you make me wreck, Violet.”

  “Who the fuck is Violet?” Emily asks, sliding back down into her seat.

  “My car. That’s who.”

  Emily asks, “You named your car?”

  “Damn straight. Now what pic is she talking about?” he inquires.

  Riley leans forward cupping her mouth like she is about to tell a secret, “A penis.” I literally choke. A what? She glances at me. “Yep, a penis with a piercing, actually. It was interesting. I can now say I’ve seen two in my life.”

  “Fuck!” Collin says, swerving the car as if he is shocked by what she just said. No more shocked than I.

  “Two?” Emily retorts, her voice squeaking.

  Riley’s eyes dart to hers then mine, wide like saucers. “Oh...well, I mean like in pictures. Not up close...or in action...or um...ya know what I mean. Shit!” Riley says, blushing and hiding her face as she tries and fails to backpedal.

  Collin pulls into the hotel parking lot just in time. As soon as he shifts into park, he turns to look at Riley laughing hysterically, to the point of tears. I think she is going crazy.

  “A penis with a piercing you say?” I lift a brow and look at Collin, who looks at Emily, who jumps in the back seat straddling Riley’s lap.
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  “Look at me, you bitch. Look at me, now!” Emily says, prying Riley’s hands away from her face.

  Riley’s eyes are squeezed shut, and she has tears streaming down her cheeks. I’m highly amused and a little perturbed by this information. We all know about Collin’s piercing. It’s no secret. He’d shamelessly show anyone his junk. Luckily, I have nothing to be ashamed about in the size department. So even if she compared the two she’s seen—I’m good.

  Riley finally stops laughing and starts swiping away at her tears. She flutters open her eyes to look at her best friend staring at her. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I think I’ve had too much sugar, or maybe I’m delirious. Look we’re here. Let’s go in. I need to pee now, because you’re bouncing all over me.”

  Emily shakes her head back and forth. “No way, hooker face. You better spill it.” She gives me the eye. “You said two. I can see the guilt all over your face and his. Y’all had sex, and you never told me.” She leans back and looks between Riley and me. I look to Riley curious as to what my reaction should be. I don’t care if anyone knows, but I’m not sharing the details, and I hope she doesn’t either.

  Riley narrows her eyes and frowns, “And so did you and Collin,” she states looking between them.

  “You already knew that.”

  “Yeah, that time. That is your thong up there. I’m not stupid. You two are hooking up. Right?”

  They stare at each other as Collin and I look to each other shrugging. A mental high five taking place.

  Emily nods her head. Then they hug. What the hell?

  “I’m so happy for you.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  “Was it good, you’ve gotta tell me all the deets, K?”

  “Did he really go down on you in these seats?”

  They speak over each other, nodding and shit—neither ever answering the others questions.

  Girls...

  Now that the cats out of the bag…to the matter at hand—room arrangements.

  “Dude, Riley looks hot,” Beau says whispering to me as we wait for his soon to be wife to walk down the aisle to their forever. Something aches in my chest as I look at her and imagine her walking down that same aisle. I can’t take my eyes off of her as the image sears itself into my brain. She would be so beautiful. I pray to God we can have that someday. I’d meant it, when I’d told her that I picture forever for us. I do. I see the whole thing.