Among the Echoes

by Aly Martinez

  "What if something happens while I’m making these mistakes? Something I can’t control. What if they find us and I’m drunk and making out with Adam?" I mumble, trying to compose myself.

  "Then it happens!" His voice rises slightly before lowering again. "You can’t spend your whole life preparing for the worst. You are just next door—with a man who has proved he would protect you at all costs. If there was ever a fucking moment to make a rash drunken decision, this is it. I’m begging you. Drink and act like a fool. Please stop hiding and actually live your life." He pauses long enough to squeeze my shoulder. "It’s killing me to watch you fade into the background. Last night, while we were all hanging out, you were amazing. It’s no wonder he tried to kiss you." His eyes are desperate and kind…and loving. Oh yeah… Ugly. Tears.

  "Dave, I love you. And I know you hate it when I tell you that, but I do. So you’re going to have to hear it again. I love you." He nods but doesn’t say a single word back. I push my cup even farther toward him, and he readies for an argument. "Fill it up," I order, and the fight freezes on his tongue. His shoulders relax as his head falls forward in relief.

  "I remember you saying you used to love wine." He pours my glass to the rim.

  "I did. Wine was my reward at the end of a shift."

  He pulls one of the beers Adam brought over out of the fridge. "Cheers, babe. It’s been a really fucking long shift."

  "Cheers, babe," I repeat back to him, unwilling to call him Dave in this moment. I take a sip of wine, acting carefree for the first time in three long years.

  Son of a bitch. I should have known better than to try to kiss her, but for fuck’s sake, she was giving me all the signs—even if I weren’t desperately trying to read into them. She was so strong and confident that, even if I wasn’t sure what she wanted, I probably would have tried to kiss her anyway. My only complaint is that she had her eyes covered up by those atrocious brown contacts all damn night. I would have paid millions to see her true color.

  I pull my iPod out of my bag and scroll through the playlists, searching for something calming. I need a distraction, perhaps something that won’t leave me thinking about Riley all night. Two nights ago, I sat on this couch worrying about the frail woman next door, but tonight, visions of her naked and moving under me threaten to force me into a cold shower. She may have rejected me tonight, but she has no idea who she is dealing with. I have no plans to give up, even if it means taking a step back from our already nonexistent relationship. I’ll give her the space to figure things out, because based on how she acted tonight, I know she’s interested in me too.

  I find an old playlist labeled ‘Chill’ and decide to take a chance. Counting Crow’s Colorblind slides through the sound system I had installed last time I was here. Yeah, this will definitely do.

  I settle on the couch and stare at the ceiling, replaying the entire night like an adolescent girl after her first kiss. Shit. That was not what I had been expecting from this evening. I must sit on the couch for half an hour listening to music and enjoying the calm around me. Just as I begin to drift off, I hear a quiet knock at my door. I jump to my feet, knowing that only one person comes to see me these days.

  I yank open the door to see her standing outside with a sweater pulled tight around her shoulders and a nervous look on her face.

  "Riley? Are you okay?" I ask as she tips her head up to look at me. The moment her blue eyes hit mine, a huge smile spreads across my face and travels down my torso and into my pants. Jesus Christ—those eyes.

  "You tried to kiss me tonight," she announces as if I hadn’t been there when she pushed me away.

  "I did, and I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I won’t apologize for actually trying though. I’ve never wanted to taste a woman more than I did you, Riley."

  Her cheeks pink, but she looks up at me playfully. "Is the offer still good?"

  I know what she is asking, but I can't stop myself from taking it a step further. "The offer to kiss me?" I ask, trying to both clarify and restrain the smile that is threatening to swallow my face.

  "Yeah, that one."

  "For you. Always." Before the words even finish coming out of my mouth, she dives into my arms.

  Her mouth crashes into mine, and the taste of wine lingers on her tongue. Somehow, in the half hour since she left, she managed to get drunk? I’m not too proud to admit that I don’t give one flying fuck how much she has had to drink. I’m taking this opportunity.

  I pull her against my body and she stills for a second before my tongue coaxes her back into a rhythm. Her soft lips glide over mine and her hands roam up my chest and over my shoulders. I can’t stop my own wandering hands from pushing down the back of her pants and squeezing her firm ass. I hold her tight as her tongue meets mine thrust for thrust. I need to slow things down before my dick forces its way out of my pants, but this woman…

  I thread a hand into her hair and suck her bottom lip into my mouth, all while holding her tight against me. "Should I start leaving the door open for you?"

  "It wouldn’t hurt," she responds, moving her attention to my neck and sucking her way up to my ear.

  Chills spread over my body, forcing a groan in their wake.

  "I should go," she whispers into my ear.

  "You really should." I lift her with both hands on her ass. We both know she isn't going anywhere.

  She immediately wraps her legs around my waist, rendering me completely silent. A groan wouldn’t even come close to doing justice to the moment when her fully clothed heat rolls over my cock.

  Only one word will suffice.

  "Fuck," I breathe, pushing her against the wall. She may have heard my curse, but she shows me absolutely no mercy with her mouth.

  Her pace is wild and her intensity is confusing from the woman who blew me off less than an hour ago. Her hands slide under my shirt. God, her touch feels so good. I need more of it. I use my leg and hips to support her against the wall while I tear my shirt over my head. Her breath catches in her throat as her eyes grow wide. Even if I didn’t get paid to keep in shape, her reaction alone would have me adding hours a day in the gym.

  "God, Adam," she gasps, sliding her hands up my chest and back down again.

  I focus on her lips as her fingers explore over my body. She moans into my mouth when they reach my abs. We both need more room to play. I palm her round ass and pull her away from the wall.

  "I thought you didn’t drink?" I ask as I turn and gently lay her down on the mats still covering my floor. I’m careful to never break our full-body connection.

  "Liquid courage," she answers before resuming her wandering hands.

  I flinch when she traces them down my sides. I can’t take it anymore. Her touch is overloading my senses. I can’t focus on anything but how fucking good the tips of her fingers feel as she drags them over every inch of my chest and stomach.

  "You’re killing me, Riley."

  I reach down and grab her hands, pushing them over her head. Before I even have a chance to fully restrain them, she jerks them out of my grasp. I look down, expecting a playful smile, but her eyes are wide and flashing around the room. I lean back and give her a questioning eyebrow, but she doesn’t respond. She takes a deep breath and offers me a weak smile before tugging my head back down into another kiss. Her tongue rolls against mine as she seemingly shakes off whatever I just did wrong.

  "The moment you pin me to that mat, I’ll probably lose it."

  Fuck.

  I try to apologize as I immediately roll to the side. "I forgot. I’m sorry."

  "It’s okay. Don’t," she whispers, kissing me again.

  It doesn’t take but a second before she begins to lick her way down my neck and over to my shoulders. She wraps her arms around my back, but she never resumes her wandering hands. I’m careful not make any more attempts to restrain her, even inadvertently, with my body. We make out for a few minutes while trying to regain the heat we just momentarily lost. Finally, she li
fts her hips, and they grind against me, sending my straining cock into the ‘painfully hard’ category.

  I shove my hands down, but just before they slide into her pants, she quickly pulls them back up to cup her breasts. How the fuck did I miss her tits? I’m out of practice, but that’s no excuse. I lift her shirt and she lets out an encouraging gasp when my fingers brush across her bra-covered nipple.

  "Can I take your shirt off?" I ask, pretending to be a gentleman. She’s lucky I’m not stripping her bare right now, but after she has stopped me twice now, I have a sneaking suspicion that ravaging Riley wouldn’t go over too well. This is going to have to be slow and tortuous, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep her under me.

  "Roll over," she whispers, moving to the side so we can change positions.

  I lie down and she straddles my hips. Before this moment, I had control over how often she could press against my cock. Now, I’m helpless, and as she settles on top of me, there has never been a better or worse feeling in the world. Well, that is until she peels her shirt over her head, revealing two pale-white breasts that are unfortunately still covered by a bra. I quickly sit up, causing more friction between us. We both groan from the connection. I drop my head to her chest as I reach around her back to unclasp her bra.

  As her bra falls away, I waste not a single second before pulling her pink nipple into my mouth. My tongue circles over her sensitive flesh. Kneading with one hand, I use the other to hold her against my mouth. She takes a deep breath, forcing her breast even farther into my mouth, and I greedily take every inch she is willing to give me. Her nails rake over my back and into my hair as she purposefully grinds against my cock. I hold her waist to still her movements. I can’t take even one more touch without being inside her.

  "Just to be clear, how out of the question is sex tonight?" I ask before resuming my assault on her breasts.

  She freezes above me and I mentally chastise myself for saying the words out loud. I’m a dumbass. I know she has issues, yet I still asked the question all the same.

  "Completely," she answers firmly, looking down into my eyes with discomfort and embarrassment covering her beautiful face.

  "Okay," I say, smiling up at her. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." I shrug, but her look of failure bothers me. "So here is how this is going to work. I’m about to pick you up and carry you to my room. You are going to squeal and pretend like it’s a fun surprise when I toss you over my shoulder. Then I’m going to lie on my back so you don’t feel trapped or pinned down, and you can do whatever you would like while we are in there. Pants stay on, but shirts are strongly discouraged." I wink and glance down at our naked chests pressed together.

  Her clear, blue eyes sparkle with relief. "Can we shut the door?" she asks, making me smirk in confusion.

  "Um, there’s no one here but us, beautiful. But yeah, if you want the door shut, I’m okay with that."

  "Yeah. I don’t do well with open doors. I need to know I would hear it if someone tried to come in."

  Son of a motherfucking bitch. I’m going to kill this asshole when I find him!

  "When you’re in that room, no one is coming near you but me," I vow, meaning it with every fiber of my being. We may be nothing more than just tonight, but I’ll be damned if I ever let her be hurt again.

  "Then let’s go," she says. I immediately stand, swinging her tiny body over my shoulder. She laughs and gives me the surprised squeal I was hoping for.

  "Oh, wait. Slapping your ass?" I ask as I turn to head down the hall.

  "Have at it." She continues to giggle the most beautiful and unrestrained sound.

  I give her a gentle tap and head to my room.

  I want to tell you that things got crazy hot from there. Maybe that I worshipped her body with my mouth all night long until she couldn’t stand it anymore and was forced to strip me naked and beg for my cock. But the truth is that we were both laughing so hard when we got to my room that, as soon as I deposited her on my bed, she curled into my side and we actually talked. I know. It’s a novelty. But I loved every fucking second of it.

  Riley is unlike any woman, or even person, I have ever met. She’s funny and smart, but I can’t quite put my finger on her. No matter how hard I try, I can’t figure her out. Sure, on the surface, she’s incredible, but for some reason, I always feel like I’m missing some integral part. I’ve only known her for a few days, but in that brief amount of time, we’ve been through some shit together. I feel like I should have a better grasp on her by now. But I can feel that she’s hiding something, and I’m not just talking about her fears.

  For two hours, Riley and I lie in my bed, shooting the shit. For two hours, I stare at Riley’s amazing eyes while tracing my hands over her naked chest. For two excruciating hours, I lie still while her hands move over my own chest. It’s not excruciating because she’s touching me; it’s torturous because I want more.

  "I should go," she whispers into my neck as she’s curled into my side.

  I give her a tight squeeze. "I vote you stay."

  "I can’t."

  I let out a groan but release her from my side. If I try to force it like I want to, it will only spook her more. "Okay."

  "Okay?" she questions, sitting up suddenly.

  "Um…what else am I supposed to say?"

  She smiles a glowing, white smile that causes my cock to stir back to life. "Thank you for not giving me shit. And for making out with me like we were in high school," she says nervously.

  "I won’t push you, beautiful. Anything that happens from here on out is completely up to you."

  Her eyes begin to twinkle with humor. "You didn’t let me finish. And thank you for working out twenty-five hours a day. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the benefits tonight," she finishes with a kiss to my chest.

  I drop my head to her hair just to breathe in a whiff of all that is Riley before she leaves. "Come over tomorrow night?" I ask as though I haven’t already asked this question tonight.

  "Yeah, okay. But promise you’ll wear sweats even if your three-piece suit comes back from the cleaners," she teases barely containing her laughter.

  Ten minutes later, after a gentle kiss and all-too-brief hug, Riley leaves.

  Forget my rescue mission to save her… Who’s going to save me?

  "All right. Spill it," Dave says, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me when I walk back inside.

  I scream and jump back against the wall. "God, you scared me! What are you still doing awake?"

  "I’ve been waiting up for hours for you to kiss and tell. You know…girl talk," he says with a shrug, and I burst out laughing. "Don’t keep me waiting, Riley. I read an entire Cosmo in preparation for this moment. My manhood is in serious jeopardy right now. I think I can pull off the BFF role if you hurry up and start talking before I remember I have a dick." His face is so completely serious that I can’t help but double over in a fit of laughter. "Less laughing, more sharing!" he shouts, but he joins me.

  When I’m able to stand back up, I walk over and throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you."

  He returns the hug. "I’m assuming it went well."

  "Yeah. It went really well."

  "I’ll buy more wine." He squeezes me painfully tight.

  "Nah, I think I’m good from now on." I let him go and take a step away. "Is it okay if I go back over there tomorrow night?"

  "You don’t have to ask me, babe. I’m not your daddy. You can do whatever you want. Just let me know when and where so I won’t worry."

  "Okay. We’re just going to be at his place. Why don’t you…ya know…go out tomorrow night too?"

  "Nah, not quite yet. Only one of us can get laid at a time. Besides, I don’t do that kind of stuff." He feigns innocence that forces me to give him a knowing look.

  "Oh please. For a man who never gets laid, you sure do run through quite a few condoms. You forget I was with you when you bought not one but two ginormous boxes last month."

>   "I told you those were for a friend!" he yells, but his eyes are laughing.

  "Of course. You really are a thoughtful friend."

  "I know. I scored a ninety-three on Cosmo’s BFF quiz."

  "You did not take a quiz!"

  "I totally did, and it just further proved how awesome I am."

  "You are ridiculous is what you are." I head for my bedroom. "Wait. Where the hell did you get a Cosmo?"

  He looks down, pretending to be shy and somehow managing to keep a straight face. "I hid it under the condoms at checkout."

  "Oh my God! You are such a loser!" I call over my shoulder as he continues to laugh behind me.

  "Night, Riley."

  "Night, Dave."

  One week later…

  Time has been flying by with Riley in my life. We can’t seem to get enough of each other. Our relationship isn’t rushing ahead at light speed; it’s more crawling at a junior high pace. That’s okay though, because there isn’t a day that passes where she isn’t knocking on my door. That makes it all right with me.

  Since that first night, we’ve been inseparable, but I still don’t feel like I’m getting the whole picture of who Riley really is. We talk for hours, but some of her stories just don’t add up. There’s always a blur on the lens when I look at her. I feel like I am missing just the slightest detail that would bring her completely into focus. However, I don’t push it because I still haven’t even told her my real fucking name.