by Claire Adams
Rebecca shook her head. “As far as I know, you’re the only local kid who made it out there. Others left, but you don’t hear much about them once they’re gone. It’s all about you… You’re the star,” Rebecca told me as she met my gaze. There was so much in her eyes. I longed to reach out and pull her close to me again.
“I don’t think so,” I told her in a low voice as I moved one step closer to her. “I just worked hard.”
“I know. I would never say otherwise.” This time there was pride in her eyes, and I smiled down at her. “I am so proud of you, even if I don’t understand the need to move there, of all places. Our dreams were different, but I am always going to be proud of you.”
We stayed out as long as we could stand it, looking at the bright stars against the dark sky that was dotted with clouds. The moment I noticed her shivering, I tucked Rebecca into the car to get her home.
Chapter Fourteen
Rebecca
The drive home was silent. I fidgeted in the comfortable seat. Something flowed between us since that kiss. I felt it all night long and felt distracted by Austin as I glanced over at him.
He was gorgeous. I smiled and looked down, feeling nervous being alone with him. It brought me back to the first date when he pulled up in front of my parents. I wondered if he was going to kiss me goodnight.
Tonight, we were adults on our own. He was taking me to the same house, but everything else was different. Dark buildings flashed by me. I got more worked up inside with every mile. I knew what I was feeling inside; what I wanted. I just couldn’t tell him all of that. I just wanted to feel a little of Austin tonight to get me through the nights when he was gone.
He parked in my driveway and opened the door for me. I loved when he took my hand to take me to the front porch. He leaned back against the door to stare into my eyes. I never wanted a man more as I gazed back at him.
“Thanks for taking me over there,” I whispered.
He held my hand tight, lifting it to his mouth to kiss my skin gently. “I’m glad she asked you to come. They loved having you over again.”
Austin smiled and moved his hand around my back to pull me against him for a long, sweet kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to mine. We both moved to deepen the kiss as the cool wind picked up around us, lost to the sensation of our tongues dancing together under the light of the porch.
I clung to him, and he kissed me again, moaning softly against my mouth.
“Come inside,” I urged him before he claimed my mouth again in a hungry kiss.
“Keys,” Austin murmured.
I fumbled in my small purse for the key ring. I handed it to him, wrapping my arms around his waist as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. He walked us both inside before closing the door and turning the lock.
Austin pressed me against the door and kissed me roughly, pinning me with his hands around my hips. I felt the difference in his lips now and sensed the need that we shared. I pressed my body against his, tasting him as my hands ripped through his hair, soft and thick between my fingers.
I knew that I loved him as the kiss continued, but I couldn’t tell Austin that. This was just tonight, or for this visit at best, before he’d leave me again. My heart might break into even smaller pieces, but I couldn’t find the strength to push him away from me.
Austin pulled away from me. I found my breath and stared at him. “Do you have regrets in life?” I asked him softly.
His eyes burned with desire and something else as he breathed in a few times. “Of course. I think that regret is sometimes what pushes a person forward. It’s a lesson to be learned.”
I smiled weakly, knowing what I wanted to ask him next. “What is your biggest regret in life?” I whispered.
He gazed tenderly at me for a second. “It will always be losing you,” Austin told me with a tremor in his voice. He kissed me again.
I moaned into his mouth. He slipped his hands down easily to cup my ass. His tongue plunged into my mouth, and I arched against him.
We parted long enough to get our jackets off and on the floor before I lifted his sweater. My thighs ached as he effortlessly slid it over his head, revealing a fitted t-shirt underneath.
I jumped at him again. “I want you, Austin.” My hands went to his pants, and he kissed me harder, lifting me and taking me down the hallway.
“Are you still in your room?” he asked against my lips, his breath labored.
“I took over the master,” I replied with a laugh. It felt like we were going to have sex in my parents’ room. Austin silenced me with his lips as he stepped through the door to the room, dropping me on the bed.
He stared down at me. “I can’t wait to taste you again,” Austin said.
He dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor in front of me. I felt his hands on my calves before he pushed the skirt up, making me gasp. This was a different start than any time before, but we were different people now. This was what we both wanted. He reached for the lace underwear I wore, pausing for a long moment to inhale me.
I shivered. “Austin,” I said in a garbled voice as he pressed his face against me. “I need you… I need to come.”
“You will. I am going to make you scream my name as many times as I can. It’s been too long.” Austin finally stripped me of the barrier before he took a long look at me. “So fucking beautiful.” His finger stroked me apart. “You’re so wet for me.”
“Always,” I murmured. He found my clit and circled it idly. My body started to burn. “Oh, God.”
Austin spent a long time getting to know me again with his mouth. He was skilled now with the use of his hands and mouth. He brought me so close to the edge a few times before I begged him to give me a fucking release.
Austin chuckled and slid two fingers inside of me. Then he sucked my clit between his teeth. I rocked forward, crying out with the force of the orgasm as he plunged deep inside, stroking every surface. Austin kept the orgasm going with every movement. By the time I was done, I was shaking and weak.
“What was that?” I asked in a whisper.
He kissed my inner thighs gently. “Magic. It’s always felt like that with you.” He stood slowly, removing his clothes, and dropping beside me. I knew we weren’t done, and a surge of adrenaline filled me as I looked over at him.
“Will you stay with me?” I asked him.
He smiled slowly. “I was planning on it.”
I smiled and sat up slowly to work the dress off, feeling him watch every movement. I blushed. I didn’t look exactly like the girl he’d left behind, but I took decent care of myself. Austin, on the other hand, was sculpted and fit. He clearly took care of himself.
I knelt before him in my black bra. I took a deep breath, looking him over. I wanted to memorize all of this so I’d have something when he left. God, I didn’t even want to think about that.
“You’re perfect,” I told him.
He reached out to stroke my cheek. “So are you. Nobody can hold a candle to you, Rebecca.” His hand moved down, unclasping the front of my bra in a practiced move that made me gasp.
“You’ve been with such beautiful women,” I said.
He shook his head. “I don’t give a shit what anybody looks like on the outside. You have the most beautiful heart that it makes you stand out above anyone else who I’ve seen. Don’t you know how beautiful you are?” Tears stung my eyes. He moved to sit before me, leaning in for a sweet kiss as he slipped the bra down my shoulders. “I have always thought so, Rebecca. I don’t know why it took so damn long to be together in the first place.”
“Kinsey,” I said, making him laugh. Austin was into a cheerleader before we started dating, and I never let that go.
“I was a fool,” he said. He pulled me into his lap, moving against the pillows. Our lips met in hungry kisses.
I moved as close to him as I could, eating away at his lips. My taste was still there, and I was fascinated with how sweet it was. This ide
a never appealed to me before, but now I wanted to do everything with Austin. I wanted to feel him everywhere.
His cock was hard as I pressed against him, sliding my clit along the ridge. I deepened our kisses, still wanting so much more. He slipped his hands down easily to cup my ass and stop my movement. “I am going to come this way if you don’t fucking stop. Your wet pussy feels too good.”
Dirty talk used to make me feel shy and uncertain, but now we both felt the rush of heat that my body responded with. I imagined something in my head and pulled away, reaching down to stroke him with my hand. Austin looked like he was in pain. He let out a ragged breath. He was still big, something I remembered well, and I scooted back on the mattress as he stared at me. “Rebecca, what are you doing?”
“I’m not a kid anymore,” I told him as I moved down to swirl my tongue around his tip slowly, making him slip one hand into my hair. I’d done this when we were together before, but hesitantly. Maybe I knew that he wasn’t going to be around forever and didn’t feel safe giving myself fully to him. I wasn’t even sure that I wouldn’t regret this, but I wanted Austin. I slid down him, taking his thick length in my throat slowly. He was large, and I sucked around him. He groaned. I tasted myself and Austin with every movement. He was close to release, and I moved up and down his body. I lifted my ass into the air for a better angle.
“Fuck me, Rebecca. You feel so good.” Austin tangled both hands into my hair, releasing the clasp as he gripped me hard. He rose with me, meeting my mouth with slow thrusts. “I want to come inside of you. Are you on anything?”
“Still on the pill, so life is a little easier.” I wasn’t referring to sex since I’d only slept with one guy since Austin left. He wasn’t here anymore, having been one of the people who were forced to move. Liam always felt like a mistake to begin with. I knew that Austin understood I was referring to bad periods. He was the one who suggested the idea, though he was pleased with the idea of dropping the use of condoms as well. I wasn’t so sure about that now with all the women I’d seen him with. “Are you clean?”
“Yes. The media makes me look worse than I am, Rebecca. I haven’t slept with all those women you’ve seen. There’s been some, but I’m always careful. Always.” I finally lifted my head and looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity of his words. “With them, I never felt the way you make me feel.” Austin pulled my head close to his for a long, deep kiss. I felt the emotions in it, knowing that my own were a tangled mess inside. When he pushed me back and hovered over me, I looked down between us. I never thought that I’d see this again. He paused at my entrance.
“Make love to me,” I whispered.
He slid home. I wrapped my legs around him and felt his mouth on mine. He filled me, pausing to let me adjust to him. I felt so complete, and part of me wanted to cry as I slipped my arms around his neck.
“So tight. So perfect.” Austin eased back and plunged forward.
He filled me again, and I moaned. We moved together after a few thrusts, our bodies rocking together. I felt him stroke me right where I needed him.
“Austin,” I croaked. Something washed over me, sending me over the edge as he held me. He started to move again, hard and fast for a few more thrusts. I cried out. He filled me with a low groan.
I knew that I was complete at this moment, and it scared the shit out of me.
Chapter Fifteen
Austin
I woke up to the sun shining through the blinds and pressed myself against the warm body beside me. Rebecca was curled up against my chest, sleeping soundly. I kissed her messy hair. I looked down at her for a long moment, then around the room. A sense of peace filled me.
Is this what I’d been looking for all these years in New York?
I smiled as I imagined her there with me, waking up every morning in my bed. Last night was perfect, and I knew that we would be great together. My heart soared when I played the night before through my head.
I pulled her against me gently. I’d stay in this bed until I convinced her to leave with me. I knew that my feelings never ended for Rebecca, and last night only made me realize how much she meant to me.
I could never regret feeling her around me again. Hell, a few years of experience made it that much more intense. Still, I would erase everything I’d ever done with any woman besides Rebecca. I didn’t care about any of them. I thought back to the short discussion about regrets and realized I regretted touching any other woman now. I had the one I was meant to be with in my arms.
I had to accept that life happened as it was meant to. I also hoped that it would continue to do so.
I listened to the sounds of the wind outside, memorizing the warmth of her skin and the citrus scent that would always remind me of her.
In about half an hour, Rebecca stirred in my arms and graced me with a brilliant smile. “Hi,” she told me.
I pushed her hair back to see her face. She was so flawless, and I didn’t think she’d ever see that. I loved the glow of her skin this morning, hoping that I had something to do with it.
“Morning, Austin.” Her lips moved against me, brushing mine softly.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I replied.
She looked down between us and blushed. “A lot changes in eleven years. I think that you got better with age.” She kissed me again.
“I can say the same about you, Rebecca. I think that being alone in a house with a bed helps, too. That was rare when we were still in school.” She laughed against me. “I loved how much you wanted me.”
“Wanted? I still do.” She pushed me to my back and crawled over me. I raised an eyebrow as she leaned down to kiss my neck, drawing the skin between her teeth.
It was slow this morning. I felt her above me, wrapped around me as our lips met in soft kisses. Her body was so sensual as she moved. I held her hair with one hand and her hip with the other, feeling the pressure building inside of me.
Once we were both sated, she dropped against me with a happy sigh. “Are you hungry? I can make something for us.”
I was, and my stomach growled to prove the fact, making her laugh. Rebecca kissed me again and pushed herself up to go to the connected bathroom. She came out in a robe. I stretched and looked around for my pants.
My phone was sticking out of the pocket, and I froze for a second. Holy shit. I never told Mom I was going to stay here. I was a grown man who had been on my own for a long time now, but I knew my mom deserved to know that I was safe.
Rebecca headed towards the kitchen with a smile on her face. I grabbed the device and checked it to see a text from Mom. She was going to be so mad at me. I was a little shit in high school and terrible at telling her where I was, but being with Rebecca eased her worries.
Mom: I had a feeling you wouldn’t be home last night.
I shook my head. She wasn’t worried. Mom was fucking thrilled about this. I laughed as I told her where I was in a message. I dropped the phone on the bed and slipped my pants on, buttoning them as I slid the phone in my pocket. I left the bedroom to go through the bright house, finding her making coffee in the kitchen with a carton of eggs on the counter.
“Mom sent me a text at some point saying she didn’t think I was going to be home last night.” Rebecca smiled at me. “That was such a setup.”
“I don’t have a ton of food right now, but do eggs and toast sound good?” she asked me. I nodded with an easy smile. “I have to go grocery shopping.”
“I’ll take you,” I offered.
She poured me a cup of coffee. Rebecca handed it to me and leaned up to kiss me before she got to work on breakfast. I made sure she was good before I wandered around the living room. She’d made it her own in some ways, but I recognized all the family photos from the many times I’d been over here. I glanced towards the kitchen and wondered how she’d ever leave this place and all the memories. Was I enough for her to start over?
Rebecca finished the simple meal, and we set the oak table before sitting down to eat.
She sat near me on the side facing the window, sipping her coffee. I took in the quiet as I sat beside her, knowing that I’d hear all the people and traffic of New York if I were home. My place was high up on an upper floor, but any time the windows were open, you couldn’t escape the noise.
“Do you really enjoy living in New York?” Her question broke into my thoughts, and I looked at her in surprise. Could Rebecca read my mind?
“I do. Life is always moving there, Rebecca. There’s always someplace to go, something to see, and a great place to get a meal. It’s a beautiful city.” I looked at her.
She shrugged.
“I don’t like the idea of life moving so fast. I like to take every moment in, like this.” She waved a hand around, and I glanced around the room. “This is a gift, Austin. I can sit here and taste this food, see the wind blowing outside of my sweet little house, and feel the peace that surrounds me. How often do you even spend time in your house there?”
I thought about it for a moment. She gave me a knowing look. “Not that often. I sleep there, and when I’m awake, I am usually working.”
“That’s not how it’s supposed to be.” She shook her head. “Mom always told me that life was a gift from God, and it won’t last forever. She made me promise her that I’d do my best to enjoy every moment of that. I don’t want to regret rushing everything later.”
“I enjoy it. I like things that way.”
She searched my face as she broke off a piece of toast.
“What about a family, Austin? Are you going to have one there?” I almost choked on the coffee that I was drinking at the bluntness of her question. That was something I never considered in New York. “Have you considered children at all?”
“I suppose,” I said as the answer formed in my head. “I never pictured it happening with my life like this. I want my kids to grow up with parents like mine were, and yours. I want to have the time to commit to them and teach them, but I can’t see that happening with my career.” I looked at her, seeing her wide eyes. “In New York, everyone hires nannies for their kids. You see it everywhere, and I hate the idea of my kids being closer to their babysitter than they are me. I know that I could give them a full-time mother, but I want to be involved as well. Even with his hours, my father was always there for me. I want to do it all like he did for me.” I shrugged. “I made my bed by building this career, Rebecca. I might not ever have a family, but there’s more to life, isn’t there? You don’t have any kids.”
