Take My Breath Away

by Mia Ford

  That put me in a bad mood.

  I headed back up with the coffees and we relaxed as we chatted, sipping them slowly. She asked why I didn’t want to go with Ed and I explained that I wasn’t into anything too casual. She gave me a long look, and I knew that she was thinking about Sterling as I blushed.

  “He left with Grace. I don’t know why you’re holding back so much.” Violet sipped her coffee, and I frowned. Enough about Grace. “He’s not doing it for you.”

  “We’re not like that. It’s fine,” I said as she looked at me again. “I might start dating again. You never know.”

  “Uh huh.” She replied as I dropped back against my pile of pillows. I gave up.

  Eventually, she was hungry, and we went down to the cafeteria to eat some early dinner. It wasn’t the greatest, but I didn’t always want to make a big production and go out. I still needed to work on my paper. I sat down first with my hamburger and salad, opening the La Croix and taking a long sip before I dug in. Violet came over with her shrimp and pasta and joined me, taking a long sip of her juice.

  We talked about our upcoming projects for school and finished dinner. We were throwing our stuff away when I glanced up to see Sterling walking in with a couple friends. I pressed my lips together and was just looking away when our eyes locked. He seemed to scowl for a moment and I raised my hand in a wave as I smiled weakly. Violet looked at me and I told her that we should get back to the room.

  6

  Sterling

  I felt angry when I saw Rosalind in the cafeteria. She looked a little tired, and I imagined her being touched by the asshole from the night before. I knew just how responsive Rosie was when you touched her in the right places. I didn’t want anyone else doing that, but it wasn’t like I was giving up other women for Rosie. How could I ask her to be exclusive to me? That was such an asshole move.

  I reached deeper inside and wondered if I was worried about losing her. I did in high school for a time when everything became competitive between our families. It wasn’t like it was when we were younger. We’d be back and forth constantly back then with our cousins. I missed it, but I never even mentioned her name in front of my family now. I wanted to sometimes but my family valued business over friendships.

  She only waved and smiled at me. It wasn’t even a real smile for Rosie and Violet seemed to be uncomfortable with seeing me. Judging from their appearances, they hadn’t done much today other than slept and eaten. That was a normal thing after a party for me. I slept in a lot later than normal. I watched her leave and headed to the food to choose something for dinner.

  Grace had my number somehow and already sent me a text earlier today. I thought that she might understand that we weren’t going to be anything based on my exit, but maybe not. I wasn’t planning to answer her and fall into another friend with benefits situation like I had with Rosie.

  Damn it. I couldn’t get Rosie out of my mind. I ordered a burger and fries and grabbed a Vitamin Water from the fridge. When I paid, I realized that it was the orange flavor. That was Rosie’s favorite since she said it was the closest thing to orange juice since she was trying to give up sugar.

  I carried my tray to a table and sat down with a sigh. I needed to finish some schoolwork and tried to think ahead to that over what Rosie did last night. It didn’t matter. We’d never be more than friends since our families would hate anything else. They were too involved in our lives.

  I chatted with the guys about school and the party next weekend as we ate. They were into Grace and her friends and asked me about her. As much of a player as I could be, I didn’t kiss and tell. I respected women too much for that. With Rosie, I kept her practically under wraps. I didn’t want my friends thinking about her in a sexual way at all. I shut that down from the beginning where she was concerned.

  We split up to go back to our rooms to get school work done. I walked in and turned on some music before I settled myself on the bed to study. I felt like I had a shit ton of tests the following week and I leaned back against the pillows and sighed. I could take a nap right now so easily and regretted drinking so much last night. Rosie probably had one beer and was perky right now. Did she want that guy virtually sober? I’d had her sober, and a bit buzzed and she was willing either way. When she was drunk, Rosie talked dirty, and I liked it more than I wanted to. I glanced back down at my open history book and narrowed my eyes at the blurry words.

  I woke up in the middle of the night, surrounded by notebooks and schoolbooks. Shit. I fell asleep. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before glancing around the bright room. Something was vibrating beside me and I reached down, finding my phone in the mess.

  Kelly.

  They were coming back in droves. I was aware that some of the girls I slept with grew feelings for me as girls do. I tried to avoid it by being as honest as possible with them, but shit still happened. I tossed the phone on the bed before going to grab a soda, so I could study some more. My hours were total shit.

  I went back to sleep around five after reading the chapters and taking notes. I had no plans the following day and needed to think about this. I woke up and went to get some coffee, pausing just outside the door. I reached into my pocket for my phone and sent Rosie a text, asking her if she wanted to come to my room. If so, I’d get her a coffee as well. I leaned against the building and waited for a response as I stared up at the gray sky.

  R: Is everything okay?

  S: Yeah. I was just getting coffee to inspire me to study. It made me think of you.

  R: Can I bring a couple books? I have been reading all day.

  S: Of course. The usual drink?

  R: Sure. Thanks, Sterling.

  I placed the order and headed back to my room when the drinks were ready. I glanced over to Rosie’s building, but she wasn’t down yet. I just kept going to my room and made space on the bed for her. I picked up a little and jumped when I heard a tap at the door. I stood and opened it, seeing Rosie standing there in leggings and a big shirt. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing the glasses that she claimed made her look like a nerd.

  “Hi,” she said as I made space for her to come in.

  “How’s the studying going?” I asked conversationally as she dropped her books on the mattress and glanced back at me.

  “It’s exhausting. I see the words in my head when I’m sleeping at this point.” She watched as I got her coffee and accepted it with a grateful smile. We sat down and arranged ourselves on the mattress to keep at it. Rosie was always a good student. I remembered how hard she worked since she started going to school. It wasn’t because she was any less intelligent than anyone else, but Rosie was more dedicated to her grades. She sipped her coffee and sighed happily as she set it back down on the desk beside her. Rosie leaned back against a pillow and read a page, licking her lips slowly. It was her habit when she was lost in reading and it turned me on. She glanced up at me and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  “You look good today,” I told her as she glanced down at her casual clothes. I didn’t know what else to say.

  “I do?” Rosie asked as I nodded and smiled.

  “I like the librarian look on you,” I teased her as she blushed. I had the sudden urge to kiss her and replace whatever feeling she had at that party, with that other guy. I licked my lips, and she gazed at me, watching the movement of my tongue. Fuck me. My cock was getting hard, and I reached down to adjust myself. Rosie turned away with a pained look on her face and I moved to cup her chin and force her to look at me.

  “Sterling,” Rosie began to say as she stared into my eyes. She was as needy for this as I was. I held her still and kissed her softly as she moaned. Rosie instinctively tilted her head and deepened the kiss as I sucked her tongue into my mouth. Books slid to the floor as she moved to straddle me, our kiss growing hungry. I was hard to the point of being in pain and she slowly rocked her body over me. Her thin pants did nothing to hold any of her heat in and I reached down to grab her ass and pull her harde
r over my erection. Her sweet pussy clenched around me through my shorts and I pulled back to moan her name.

  Rosie was the first to reach for my sweatshirt and I used one arm to tug it off and toss it to the floor. I watched as she nibbled at my jaw, kissing down my neck as she sucked and nibbled. I always told women not to be immature and leave marks, so I wouldn’t look like the man whore that I was. I never did with Rosie. I kind of liked the idea of her marking me when nobody knew about us. She kept moving down my chest, tracing my nipple with her tongue as I gripped her with one hand, loosening her hair so it hung over her shoulders. She bit me as she drew me between her teeth and I gripped her hair tightly.

  “I want you naked on your knees for me, Rosie.” My voice was low, and firm and she sucked me harder. I didn’t usually act too dominant with her but tonight I had specific needs. She moved back, and we both took her shirt off before I leaned in to kiss her bare skin. She was already ready for my mouth and I sucked a nipple between my teeth as she cried out my name. I slipped her pants down enough to finger her slick folds, teasing her clit before I pulled out to rub the juices all over her other nipple. Rosie gasped as I moved to taste that one and I took the leggings off completely. She was bare under them as well and it made me crazy to think that she wanted this as much as I did. I sucked her mercilessly before kissing her and feeling her tongue taste her own desire as we both moaned.

  Changing my mind, I pushed her back and crawled between her legs. I spread them wide and gazed up over her body before I placed my mouth over her sweet pussy. I licked her slowly and firmly as I gripped her thighs tightly, keeping her in place. Rosie did nothing but wriggle around otherwise. I teased her with my tongue until she was begging me to lick her clit and I sucked it onto my mouth. She was wild tonight, and I made her come into my mouth as she cried out my name.

  I kept drinking her in until I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned her to her stomach and kicked my shorts off before moving over her. I spread her legs apart and drove myself inside of her as I breathed out her name. She was so tight and wet, and I bit down on my lips as I kept thrusting. Rosie was the first to come and the feeling of her heat washing over me shocked me as I looked down at the place where our bodies were joined.

  “Fuck.” I muttered as I pulled out and came on her back. “I forgot a condom. I’m sorry.” It felt good to release after having her bare and watching my come shoot onto her pale skin. I got up and went to the bathroom to warm a washcloth in water and wipe her down as she lay quietly before me. I dropped it to the floor and rested my head on the small of her back, breathing in deeply.

  7

  Rosalind

  “Are you clean?” I asked as Sterling’s breath hitched in his throat. I could still feel him on my back, hot and thick. I liked it, but I knew his reputation.

  “I am. I always use a condom, Rosalind. I swear that to you. I get checked regularly just to make sure.” I heard the stress in his voice. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Are you on any birth control?”

  “I am bad about taking it but yeah. I try to be consistent with the pill,” I admitted as he dropped beside me. “I just don’t do this with anyone else right now. We’re normally so careful.”

  “You don’t?” Sterling asked as I closed my eyes. Damn it. I didn’t want to tell him that.

  “Not so far,” I replied softly as his hand stroked my back gently.

  “What about at the party?” Sterling asked in disbelief as I knew that the truth was out there. I didn’t want him thinking that I was waiting for him to give me some kind of relationship. “I saw you with that guy.”

  “You did?” I asked as he sighed. “Kissing doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with him, Sterling. This is already confusing enough sometimes.” He pulled away and I felt the void of his touch.

  “It’s confusing.” Sterling repeated slowly. “Do you want to stop this?”

  In some ways, I did. It would be so much easier not to obsess about Sterling the way I did sometimes. The idea of not having his touch made me hurt inside. I didn’t know what I’d do without him and this intimacy was part of that now.

  “No, Sterling. It’s fine. I just don’t want to complicate my life with multiple partners at this point. I have so much to do already. What we have is perfect. No ties and fun when we want it.” I tried to sound casual and waited for his response.

  “So, you don’t expect anything from this?” He asked, and I assured him that was true. “Okay. I can handle that. I like this with you, Rosie. You’re responsive and feel good wrapped around my cock. I just can’t think about anything else right now.”

  “Of course not,” I replied as I turned to face him. I was tingling for more and I gazed down his body. He was inside of me bare and both of us were on his skin. I told him to get to his back and Sterling stared at me as he complied. I crawled between his thighs and took him into my mouth, tasting the salty and the sweeter juices. He was thick and hard as I drew him in deeper as he gripped my hair. I wanted to prove that I wanted this and took him back in my throat as I forced myself to relax.

  “Rosie. That feel so fucking good,” he told me as I bobbed up and down on him. I wanted to be the best for him and make him remember me. I just didn’t want to say it aloud.

  He forced me off him and reached for a condom. I rolled it over him and raised my body over him, impaling my pussy over him. We rocked together clumsily, finding our rhythm and then I was riding him hard and fast. I cried out as he filled me, knowing that I’d do anything to keep this in my life if I could. I would just have to be happy with these private, intimate moments. Someday, it would end, and we would both be fine with it.

  We’d have to be.

  I dressed in some of his boxers and a t-shirt and we kept studying together. We drank the coffee that was cold now and settled back into the pillows a few feet apart. I kept playing the night through my mind as I read the words in my psychology book, jotting down some important points.

  This felt like more than two friends studying. Given that we just had incredible sex, we were obviously more but at the same time, we weren’t. When I was ready to go back to my dorm, I fixed my hair and got dressed in my clothes, realizing that I’d worn my glasses through all the sex. I glanced in the mirror to make sure that I basically looked the same as when I left the dorm. I was aware that Violet was keeping an eye on the situation between me and Sterling. I looked at him on his bed in sweats, his hair wild from the activity earlier in the evening. I saw something lighting up on the floor and could tell that it was his phone with some kind of message or call coming in.

  “Have fun studying.” Sterling looked up at me and I smiled. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “Thanks for coming by.” He grinned wearily, and I opened the door and walked out, pulling it closed. I wasn’t sure how I wanted us to part but this seemed too casual. I relaxed my face as I walked to the front door and headed outside. It was getting darker in the late afternoon and I glanced up to see that the sky was overcast. I walked to the next building and headed up the stairs into the lobby. There were quite a few students gathered around and I made my way past them to head upstairs to my room. Trying the door, I found it open and pushed my way inside slowly.

  Violet was sleeping amongst her books and notebooks, her head propped up on several pillows. We both worked ourselves to death, and I felt some sympathy for her as I walked over to the desk, placing my books quietly on the surface. I decided to take a shower and picked out some fresh clothes before heading into the bathroom.

  I dropped the old clothes into the hamper and stepped under the hot water. It felt good as it pulsed over my skin and I washed my hair, knowing that he was in there somewhere. When Sterling came, he shot it all over my back. The memory made me shudder. I washed my body off, my nipples sensitive from his teeth as I sighed.

  I dressed after the shower and braided my damp hair before I crawled into bed. I was exhausted and needed a nap before I tried to read another word of anything. />
  I woke up to the scent of food and blinked as I looked around. Violet was sitting on her bed eating out of a container in the dim light of her salt lamp. She saw me and smiled.

  “I ordered some Thai food. I was starving and couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of going to the cafeteria. I had to get this downstairs, but that was worth it.” She held up a second fork. “I got your favorite.”

  I took the container that she offered me and dropped back to my bed. These memories in this tiny room with Violet would always mean something to me. We’d shared so many dreams and ideas in here. She knew me better than my parents did. I opened the lid and inhaled the scent of the noodles and chicken deeply before wrapping some around my fork. It was so good.

  “Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed this,” I told her before I took another bite.

  “There’s ice cream on the way too. Chocolate pints. Amazon is my best friend,” I smiled and shook my head.

  “Are we going to study anymore?” I asked as she shrugged.

  “I have had enough. I just want to kick it and watch a movie or something.” Violet told me from her bed and I nodded in agreement. “How was it at Sterling’s?” I’d told her where I was going and received a knowing look from her.

  “We studied. Nothing big,” I replied as I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork.

  “Just studied?” She queried as I rolled my eyes.

  “Yes. We hang out sometimes too, you know.” I was lying, but I didn’t want to discuss the weird things that happened tonight. I still needed to process it myself.