Save the Secret Date

by Ellie Cahill

Jake swung the door open for me, and I stepped into the warm, steamy enclosure with him.

  “Hi there,” he said reverently.

  “Hi.”

  He lifted a hesitant hand toward me, eventually settling on my shoulder. From there he cupped the back of my head and bent to kiss me. That was all at first; only our lips and the gentle pressure of his hand on my neck connecting us. But the kiss was the match held to the wick, and my body was candle wax melting into him. It didn’t feel strange as I expected, with the warm water falling on us and between us. Our skin was hot and wet, and where he was hard I was soft. It was easy. Easy to give in again, as we had last night, only this time there were no clothes in our way. His hands didn’t have to bother with zippers and skirts, and tugging things out of the way. Instead he could trace the full curve of my back to cup my backside and pull me tight to him.

  Our height difference disappeared when he sat on the shower bench and pulled me onto his lap. Straddling his lap on my knees I kiss him hard and long as as deeply as I wanted. His hands found every inch of me and tested what I responded to best. In my current state of arousal, that was pretty much everything he did.

  I rocked my hips against him, almost without thought. Grinding against him without penetration, but it felt so goodI couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to. The pleasure was building inside me. It wasn’t like me at all. I was inexperienced—I’d only slept with two other boyfriends. And I was out of practice—last time had been more than three years before. And back then, I was so shy and awkward I could barely relax, much less enjoy myself.

  And then it happened. My entire body tensed, held, and released in a wave of pleasure that made my head spin. I clung to Jake, gasping and quivering, and afraid to open my eyes. He kissed my face and my neck, hugging me tight like he was worried I’d fall to the floor in a boneless puddle.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I nodded into his shoulder where I’d collapsed.

  “Sure?”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “I think maybe we need to get you out of here, hmm?” He got me to my feet, out of the shower, and wrapped in a towel before he led me to his bed. I collapsed back, unable to worry about my wet hair on his pillow.

  “You look done,” he said.

  “Sorry, I just—that was intense.”

  “That was hot.” He grinned. “Better than I pictured it.”

  “You pictured it?”

  “Many many times.”

  I covered my face. “Well, now I’m embarrassed.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve pictured you doing a lot of other stuff, too.”

  “Such as?”

  “I’ll show you.” He thought about that. “But only if you say yes.”

  “Is this the sort of stuff where I’m going to need to sign written consent?”

  He laughed. “No! I swear. Verbal is more than okay.”

  I nodded. “Okay then. Yes.”

  “To?”

  “All of it. Anything. I consent.” I raised my right hand as if I were being sworn in to testify. “I, Mary Elizabeth O’Brien, being of sound mind and body, consent to…everything.” Reviewing what I’d just said, I added, “Except if it’s weird.”

  Jake laughed. “Define weird.”

  “If it came up in one of your graduate school classes.”

  “That’s…” He winced. “You don’t even want to know about some of that stuff.”

  “Exactly.” I raised my hand to swearing-in position again. “Just double-check with me if you think it’s weird. Otherwise, I’m in.”

  Jake raised his hand. “I’m in, too.”

  “Okay then. Where do you want to start?”

  He smiled slowly. “Well, it involves a condom, if that helps.”

  “I should warn you, I’m a little out of practice.” I paused. “Very out of practice.”

  “If the shower is any indication, I think we’re going to do just fine.” He rose and returned with a condom in a black wrapper. “Are you sure? Because we definitely do not have to rush into this if you’re not ready.”

  “I want to.”

  “I am really happy you said that.” He kissed me.

  The kiss turned into several, and then we were wrapped around each other. I felt even more naked than I had in the shower with the water preventing me from really feeling his skin. It was surprisingly easy to get used to being with him this way. Six years of friendship and at the snap of a finger, we were more. And it was like it was meant to be this way all along.

  After a spine-tingling orgasm in the shower, my body was more than ready. We slid together like puzzle pieces and both gasped, and then sighed with pleasure.

  “That’s so good,” Jake breathed.

  “Uh huh,” I whimpered pulling him down for a kiss.

  The rest of the room turned into a fog as we began to move together. Jake was all I could see. All I cared about in the world. His body and my body seemed to have been waiting for each other all this time. We moved together easily and seemed to share each other’s pleasure as if it were our own.

  The actual sex didn’t last long, but we laid tangled in each other’s arms after, and that was amazing. We kissed, and talked, and could touch each other freely for the first time.

  “I have to tell you, your breasts are fan-fucking-tastic.” Jake covered one with his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  I made a face. “Ugh, they’re just big.”

  “They’re awesome.”

  “Why does everyone make such a big deal out of big boobs? They’re a pain in the butt.”

  “First of all, not every big boob is a good boob. There is definitely such a thing as too big. Yours? Are like…art. Better than I imagined.”

  I laughed. “Did you spend a lot of time imagining them?”

  “Hours. Days probably.”

  “Well then I’m glad they weren’t a disappointment.”

  Jake kissed the tip of my nose. “Nothing about you is a disappointment.”

  Suddenly there was a pounding at the door.

  27

  No More Secrets

  I screamed, clutching for the blankets on reflex.

  The pounding resumed and now there was shouting. “Jake! Jaaaaaakkkkeeee!”

  It was Ashley. I was ready to be seriously pissed, but then her voice was joined by others. A lot of the others by the sounds of it.

  “Jake! Mary!! We know you’re in there!”

  “Come on! Open up!”

  “Mary!!!”

  “Quit doin’ it and open the door!”

  Jake sighed, and asked me in a soft voice, “What do you want to do?”

  “Do you think they’ll go away?” I whispered.

  The pounding resumed along with more calls of our names.

  “No,” Jake said. “And someone’s going to call security if we don’t shut them up.”

  “You’re right.”

  Another series of pounds and name shouting.

  “All right all right! Stop making so much damn noise!” Jake shouted back.

  We disentangled ourselves and Jake pulled on some clothes. Shorts and a t-shirt, lucky him. All I had was my cocktail dress, which was still in a heap on the bathroom floor. I hurried into it as quickly as I could, ignoring the damp spots.

  Jake opened the door to reveal pretty much everyone under the age of 30 who’d been at the wedding. The bride and groom were in the middle of the crowd, grinning and giggling with everyone.

  “What the hell?” was all Jake said.

  “Whatcha dooooin’?” Emmy drawled.

  “Answering the door, thanks to you assholes.”

  Another round of giggling.

  “Come to the beach with us!” Reina declared.

  “The beach!”

  “The beach!”

  “We’re going the beach!”

  It was like having the muppets at your door; a happy mob with a plan.

  “Wedding night on the beach.” Emmy held out her hands to us.
<
br />   Jake looked at me and shrugged. “Wedding night on the beach?” he asked me.

  I took Emmy’s hand. “Wedding night on the beach.”

  The entire mob relocated, gleefully singing and laughing, and likely annoying any guests who were trying to sleep.

  The moon was only a sliver in the sky, but it was enough to give a slight glow to the white sand as we all walked toward the ocean. Everyone who wasn’t barefoot soon tossed off their shoes and we all stood at the ragged edge of the water. High tide had the waves rolling toward us, and swamping our ankles. The guys rolled their pants up, but soon enough they were soaked anyway as the lure of the ocean was always too strong to stay dry under circumstances like this.

  Emmy pulled me and Ashley to her and wrapped her arms around us. “I’ve missed you girls so much. I love you.”

  Tears stung my eyes, and I told her I loved her too.

  A wave rolled in, soaking us all the knees.

  “Emmy! Your dress!” I shouted.

  “Oh, who cares?” she said. “It’s just a dress.”

  “But it’s your wedding dress,” I said.

  “I’ve already got Beck,” she said. “This is just a party dress.”

  “Well, it was a hell of a party,” Beck’s voice interrupted us, resting his hands on Emmy’s shoulders. “We did it, babe,” he whispered to her.

  “We did.” She let go of Ash and me to turn and hug Beckett. “Now about that annulment…”

  He burst into laughter. “Fuck your annulment.”

  They kissed, giggling together.

  “Do you think we should tell them?” Emmy whispered when they parted.

  “Tell us what?” Jake asked as his arm curved around my waist from behind. I startled, but quickly relaxed and let him kiss my neck.

  “Looks like you’re not the only ones with a secret.” Ashley looked pointedly at me.

  “What secret?” I asked.

  “No secrets.” Jake wrapped his other arm across my shoulders, hugging me tightly.

  “We’ve got a secret.” Emmy giggled and covered her mouth with one hand.

  “Em, come on, we talked about this,” Beck reasoned.

  “But they’re the only ones here who don’t know!” she protested. “All the Middlesex people know!”

  “Know what?” Mandy asked, suddenly drawn to the group by the familiar sound of their school’s name.

  “Em,” Beck said seriously. “My cousin is here.”

  “Luke won’t tell,” Emmy said.

  “Is someone talking about me?” Luke asked, suddenly paying attention as well.

  “Luke, if we told you a secret, would you promise not to tell anyone else in your family?”

  “Oh Jesus, Em.” Beck covered his face with one hand.

  “Anybody got a dollar?” Luke asked, turning around to address the rest of the group.

  “I do!” Travis volunteered.

  “Can you give it to Emmy?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah, sure.” Travis didn’t hesitate and handing the bill over.

  “Now give it to me,” Luke told her.

  “What are you doing?” Ashley asked.

  Emmy held out the dollar.

  “Thank you.” Luke took it and tucked it into his pocket. “I’ll consider that your retainer and I am officially your lawyer,” he pronounced. “As such, we now have attorney-client privilege. Anything you tell me stays between us.”

  Emmy grinned and looked triumphantly at Beckett. “See? He won’t tell.”

  “I hate you,” Beck told Luke.

  Luke smiled. “I am a lawyer. We’re used to it.”

  “So, can I tell them?” Emmy asked.

  Beckett sighed. “It sounds like you’re going to anyway.”

  “Are you pregnant?” Mandy demanded.

  The P-word drew the attention of everyone who wasn’t already involved in the conversation, especially Hadley who was wide-eyed.

  “What’s happening?” she asked.

  “Who’s pregnant?” Reina shoved her way between Travis and Luke.

  “No one is pregnant!” Emmy said with a laugh. “But I have to tell you guys a secret. We have to tell you.”

  “What?” Ashley said.

  “The Middlesex people already know, and they’ve been amazing about keeping it quiet,” Emmy began. “But you guys—” she gestured to Jake and me, then Ashley, then Brady. “You guys are like family and I hated not telling you.”

  “Oh my god, spit it out!” Ashley implored.

  “The truth is, Beck and I were already married.”

  “What?” Ashley was the one who shrieked the question, but it was fair to say she spoke for all of us. Jake’s arms tightened around in me in surprise. Ashley went on, “Since when? What the fuck?”

  “We had to,” Beck said quickly. “To qualify for housing. It was just a technicality.”

  “How could you not tell us?” I asked. I left out the words ‘especially me’ which I felt like adding, because it was so rare for me to not be privy to a secret. And one as big as this? It was unprecedented. But as shocking as this news was, it certainly helped explain all the bits of pieces of the story I hadn’t been able to fit into a picture over the last few days.

  “Don’t be mad!” Emmy said. “We didn’t want our parents to know we’d gotten married without telling them. It would have broken my dad’s heart if he knew he wasn’t there.”

  “Still you could have told us!” Ashley said. “We tell each other everything!”

  “Bullshit,” Beck said.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I know for a fact we do not tell each other everything,” Beck said.

  “There’s a difference between not telling you I bought a new car and failing to mention you got god damn married,” Brady said.

  “You got a new car?” Beck asked with a naughty smirk. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I swear to god, Anderson,” Brady took two threatening steps toward Beck and raised a fist, but he was laughing, and Beck didn’t even have the grace to pretend to be scared.

  “So how long have you been married?” I asked.

  “Um…” Emmy looked at Beckett with pleading eyes.

  “You’re the one who wanted to tell them,” he said.

  “Ummmm…” Emmy’s beautiful features warped into a series of evasive expressions.

  “You got married right before we met,” Reina supplied.

  “Yeah, on the way to Iowa, right?” Mandy asked. “So, what? About two years now, right?”

  This time, all four of us roommates shouted, “What?” in near-perfect unison.

  “Oh Jesus,” Beck rubbed his forehead. “See, Em? This is why we weren’t going to tell them.”

  “Oh you’re going to tell us,” Ashley said, crossing her arms.

  “Sorry.” Emmy’s sheepish expression matched her worried tone to Beck.

  Beside us, the ocean continued to soothing song, but it couldn’t penetrate the tension of the group.

  The frazzled groom sighed one more time. “Look, we needed to be married to keep our housing, so we got married.”

  “But you weren’t even—” Jake started, but Beckett cut him off.

  “We did it in a weird order, okay? But at the end of the day—at the end of this day—I am madly in love with the woman I married.”

  A few people chorused, “Aww!”

  “And we wanted to bring all of the people we love together and have an awesome time and do things right,” Emmy added. “For my dad. And my mom—” her voice cracked at the mention of her mom who had died. “And for Beck’s family, too.”

  “And for you guys,” Beck added. “We wanted you to be with us.”

  There was a quiet moment. I don’t know what anyone else was feeling, but I was rapidly shifting from upset to touched.

  Ashley was the first to speak, and she sounded like she was crying. “Well you are really fucking lucky this resort kicks so much ass or I would be seriously mad
at you guys.”

  Emmy snapped her attention to her husband and whispered, “See?”

  He laughed softly.

  “So now you know our secret,” Emmy said. “Obviously you cannot tell our parents. But we—I—wanted you to know, because you guys are all like family to me. I hope you’re not mad.”

  “Well, I didn’t know you before,” Hadley volunteered, “So as far as I’m concerned you guys are just the reason I got to spend the week in Mexico.” She laughed. “You’re okay in my book.”

  “Mine, too,” Luke said. “But I have to say that as your lawyer.”

  That got a laugh.

  “We’re not mad at you,” Reina said. “We love you guys.”

  “You’re the ones who knew,” Ashley snarked. “We’re the ones they were lying to.”

  “Chill, Ash. Everybody’s entitled to a few secrets,” Jake said. He’d eased up his embrace on me a bit, but still had a protective arm around my shoulders.

  “Not me!” she protested. “I am an open book!”

  “Okay, Saint Honesty, you’re the exception,” Jake said. “Happy?”

  “I have a secret,” Mandy volunteered.

  “You do?” Reina sounded shocked.

  Mandy took a deep breath, before announcing, “I’m the one who got the job in New York.”

  The was a blur of chatter as her fellow grad students reacted. It was generally good-natured but there were a few cries of disappointment.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Emmy asked.

  “You’re one to talk,” Ashley interjected.

  “Ash, ease up,” Brady said.

  “I knew how many people wanted the job, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to take it,” Mandy confessed. “I’m so freaked out about moving to New York.” She squinted through the dim to find me in the crowd. “But Mary helped me feel better about it. Thanks, Mary.”

  “You knew?” Reina asked, looking at me.

  “We were just talking at breakfast!” I put my hands up defensively.

  “Everyone tells Mary everything,” Emmy assured her Iowa friends. “She’s like a vault.”

  “Not everything, apparently,” Ashley said, looking pointedly at the bride and groom.

  “Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Emmy said. “What do you want me to say?”

  “I can’t believe I’m the only one who sees this is a big deal! This is like, a huge, gigantic, nuclear secret!”