High School Reunion

by Kimberly Dean

  ‘Ah!’ Roma hissed. She wanted him, but the way their bodies were coming into contact, her butt stung like the dickens. She couldn’t stand it. ‘Sore bottom. Sore bottom!’

  She reached back to push at him. ‘Stop!’

  Everything inside Jake was saying ‘go, go, go’, but he slammed on the brakes, halfway through a stroke. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stay half in and half out of her. ‘Are you saying you can’t?’

  She paused for nearly a full minute. ‘Not this way,’ she finally admitted.

  He was going to die. Plain and simple. Die.

  He jerked out of her and bent over with his hands on his knees. His cock thrust randomly in the air, looking for her. Shutting his eyes, he struggled for control.

  Roma was looking around the room frantically, waving her hands. ‘There. On the floor where we were before. On your back.’

  He’d stand on his head if he had to. He pushed his pants off the rest of the way. She came over to yank at his T-shirt. He caught her and pulled her to him. The T-shirt fell at his feet as they kissed voraciously.

  ‘Ah!’ she hissed against his lips. ‘Not the bottom.’

  His hands had wandered. ‘I thought it felt good.’

  ‘It did before. Now, not so much.’

  She pushed at his chest. Together, they dropped to the floor. Jake couldn’t remember ever being so hard. His balls were pulled up so tight, he was practically puckering. If she didn’t hurry, she was going to be out of luck. Quickly, he lay on his back and pulled her on top of him.

  ‘Find whatever works,’ he said, desperately.

  She straddled him, and he felt her line their bodies up. Unable to stop himself, he thrust upwards.

  ‘Oh!’ she cried. Her head fell back.

  Damn it. He froze. ‘No good?’

  ‘No. Great.’ Her hands fisted on his chest and she lowered herself, taking him deeper. ‘Oh, that’s fantastic.’

  Jake’s neck arched against the hard floor, and he felt a peanut poke into his skull. ‘Faster,’ he demanded.

  She began to ride him hard. Out of habit, he caught her by the hips. She lurched upright and caught his hands. She peeled them off of her backside and settled them over her breasts instead. ‘Here. Do whatever you want here.’

  Oh, hell yeah.

  She was his kind of woman.

  He thrust as well as he could, but she took on most of the work. She began bouncing up and down on his rampaging cock. Her breasts juddered, and he pinched and squeezed her. Suddenly, she reared back and grabbed her heels. The position ground her down on him hard and stars exploded behind his eyes.

  Good stars this time.

  ‘Roma,’ he said a bit frantically.

  She arched forwards and braced her hands on his heaving chest. Her hair swung back and forth as she pumped up and down. Up and down. Finally, Jake couldn’t take any more. Unable to stop himself, he grabbed her bottom and squeezed hard.

  He erupted, and she let out a cry. His fingers bit deeper, and an orgasm hit her hard. She went rigid on top of him, and then collapsed.

  Together, they lay on the floor of his office gasping for oxygen.

  ‘Holy shit,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, damn,’ Roma said with a sigh.

  ‘What was that?’ he asked, stunned.

  ‘Really good make-up sex.’

  She lay draped across him, totally limp. He rubbed her bottom gently, and she winced.

  ‘Is it really that bad?’ he asked, feeling guilty. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

  She eased his conscience with an intimate grin. ‘It’s all a matter of perspective.’

  The scamp. He grinned back. ‘Damn, you’re a lot of fun when you’re not paranoid.’

  ‘You’re a barrel of monkeys, too.’

  Jake relaxed back. He was relieved that they’d gotten past that, because she was more than just fun. She was smart, sassy, daring, caring and lovable all at once. He wondered, not for the first time, what he’d done to deserve her. He wasn’t going to question his luck, though; he was simply going to enjoy it. Just lying with her like this made him happy, even if he was in a pile of chocolate goo.

  He had to chuckle when he found the glob in her hair.

  ‘Turn your head,’ he said. ‘Let’s see how bad this is.’

  She grimaced and obeyed.

  ‘Damn, you’ve got caramel all over.’

  He tried to pluck it out with his fingers, but it was a sticky mess. He should know. He could feel it on the back of his head, too.

  He sighed. ‘You’d better go take a shower before it hardens. I’d hate to have to cut it out.’

  Her head snapped back around so fast, she damn near clipped him on the chin again.

  ‘Cut it out?’ Her hands clapped over the back of her head. ‘You can’t go hacking away at my hair. I just got it cut for the reunion.’

  She pulled away from him as if he’d suddenly become poison. He grabbed for her, but she’d already disconnected their bodies and climbed off him. He propped himself up onto his elbows and watched as she scrambled naked around the room, picking up her clothes.

  ‘It’s your own fault,’ he accused. ‘Cheating so soon before the big day.’

  ‘I didn’t cheat. I told you, I’m an addict.’

  ‘A sex addict,’ he said, laughing.

  ‘Yeah, well, so are you!’ She tugged on her top without her bra and hissed as she pulled up her jeans. ‘Oooh! Ow! Oh!’

  It was so pure Roma, Jake collapsed onto the floor in a fit of laughter. ‘God, you crack me up.’

  ‘Laugh all you want, lover boy. If I end up having to cut this out of my hair, you’ll be laughing out of your belly button.’ She started for the door, but stopped suddenly. She pivoted around. ‘I’m out of shampoo.’

  He pointed across the room. ‘In my gym bag.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, unzipping it and grabbing what she needed.

  ‘No problem,’ he said as she darted out of the door.

  Lying back, he folded his hands across his chest and stared at the ceiling. Oh yeah, life with Roma Hanson was never boring. He could hardly wait to see what would happen next.

  Chapter Eleven

  Friday after work, Roma was getting in one of her final workouts. She didn’t want to let up now, not when her reunion was only a week away. She couldn’t believe how well things were coming together for the big event. Her new figure was rockin’, her dress was slinky, her hair was peanut free, and her escort was drop-dead gorgeous. Underscore that last one. Jake couldn’t have been more perfect if she’d special ordered him out of a hunk-of-the-month catalogue. All they lacked was an appropriately hot car to match.

  Maybe they should rent something snazzy. If they were going to make an impression, they might as well go all out. A limo would certainly draw attention. No…too ostentatious and obviously a rental. Maybe a Caddy. Or a Hummer!

  A snappy old tune from Katrina and the Waves came on the radio, and she cranked up the volume. The song fitted her mood perfectly. She increased the speed on the treadmill and began bee-bopping along.

  Heh, heh, heh! This silly piece of equipment hadn’t gotten the better of her. She could listen to the radio, handle the controls, and even look around the room without holding onto the support bar any more.

  ‘I’m walkin’ on sunshine. Whoa oh!’ Katrina belted out the happy lyrics, and Roma nodded her head. Yep, sunshine – that’s what she felt like. A big ball of light and warmth. Well, scratch that. She didn’t feel like a big ball any more. She was just happy and content. Everyone should feel this way.

  ‘And don’t it feel good? Yeah! All right now.’

  You go, Katrina. Yes, sir, she felt good. She was ready to take on Ellie Huffington and her cronies. Even they couldn’t make a dent in her confidence any more. She had a good life. A great life. They had no power over her. If they even tried to get under her skin at this reunion, she was more than prepared to kick a little ass.

  Jake had lived up
to his promise on that.

  ‘I’m walkin’ on sunshine. Whoa oh!’ The happy song disappeared, and she lost her rhythm. Stumbling, she grabbed for the support bar. Somebody had just plucked her headphones right off her head. Looking around, she found Hawk. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she snapped.

  ‘You’re singing!’

  ‘I’m what?’

  ‘You’re caterwauling like a stuck pig. Nobody can concentrate.’

  Eyes wide, Roma glanced around the room. Sure enough, people were staring. Nothing new there. She looked at the guy on the treadmill next to her. ‘Was I really singing?’

  ‘If you want to call it that.’

  She grimaced. ‘Oops.’

  ‘You didn’t realise?’ Hawk said in disbelief. ‘You were at about an eight on the volume scale.’

  ‘Oh, goodness.’ She snatched her headphones back from his greedy paw and looped them about her neck. With a quick slap on the controls, she turned off the treadmill. She waved at her unwitting audience. ‘Sorry to intrude everyone. Go back to whatever you were doing. I’ll just be going to the locker room now to hide my face. As usual.’

  Before she could escape, Hawk passed her the cleaning solution and a rag. Gym rules. She sprayed down the machine and wiped off the droplets of sweat she’d left behind.

  ‘Does it really feel that good?’ he teased as she polished the display.

  ‘Yes. It does,’ she said, chin raised. She and Jake were solid – a true couple.

  ‘Good,’ he replied. She took a step backwards and, almost nonchalantly, he looped an arm about her waist just as she tripped over her towel. She’d draped it across the machine as she’d been working out, but it must have fallen off. Righting her on her feet, he gave her a quick slap on the rear. ‘I need to go through things one more time.’

  Roma lurched and spun around, holding her bottom. Had Jake told him about what they’d done in his office? No, she realised as she watched him closely. As always, Hawk was just being a pain in the butt. She looked at him tiredly. ‘Again?’

  ‘Just once more.’

  Grumpily, she put the cleaning supplies back on the shelf where they were kept and picked up her towel. ‘Hawk, we’ve gone through everything a million times already. You’ve got it.’

  He ran a hand over his glistening head. ‘There are still a few loose ends. Like…I made the reservation at that fancy Italian restaurant you recommended, but we never talked about what I should order.’

  ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake! Order anything you want – except maybe spaghetti. That’s tough on a first date. Too messy.’

  ‘Right. Good point. Should I order for Missy, too?’

  ‘God, no. Women hate that.’

  He grabbed the end of her towel and patted his brow. She had a sneaking suspicion his workout wasn’t what was making him sweat.

  ‘I’m worried about this conversation thing,’ he confided. ‘What if we run out of things to talk about?’

  Aaaggh! She couldn’t believe he was still hung up on that. He had a million things he wanted to know about the woman. The list took up two entire pages, and she knew that Missy had one just as long. ‘You won’t run out,’ she promised. ‘She’s going to be asking you questions, too.’

  Apparently, he hadn’t thought about that.

  ‘Questions like what?’ he asked, in a near panic. ‘We didn’t practise that. What’s she going to want to know?’

  Roma sighed and threw a glance at the clock on the wall behind the reception desk. Saved by the bell! ‘We haven’t got time to cover all the possibilities now. You need to leave.’

  When his eyes opened in alarm, she grabbed his chin and made him look. ‘You’ve got an hour and a half to get cleaned up, dressed and over to her apartment. You told her you’d pick her up at seven o’clock.’

  His face paled. ‘Shit. How did it get that late?’

  When he stood frozen, still looking at the clock, she did something really stupid. Reaching out, she returned his playful slap on the ass. It nearly bruised her hand. ‘Get a move on, Hoss.’

  His head turned. Slowly, his gaze dropped. ‘That was probably a mistake.’

  ‘Probably.’ She clenched and unclenched her fingers, trying to regain some sense of feeling. ‘But so would be making Missy wait.’

  ‘Damn.’ His gaze flew back to the clock, and she could almost see his worries flooding back in. He threw her one last forlorn look before hurrying out of the room.

  Roma sighed. He might not think he was ready, but she was happy the big night was here. The man had her exhausted. She’d only been his dating coach for three days, but it seemed like three years. The questions just didn’t stop. What should we do? Where should I take her? What should I wear? What’s she going to wear? Can I touch her?

  ‘Is he gone?’

  She turned around to find Jake standing behind her. ‘Where have you been?’

  ‘Hiding in the massage room. I never volunteered to help him with this date thing. I couldn’t take it any more.’

  ‘You? I’m the one he’s been hounding.’

  ‘Yeah, but you weren’t getting the sex questions.’

  ‘Wanna bet?’

  Jake’s eyes narrowed, but then Hawk was flying by with his gym bag and all his gear. He hit the front door so hard, it nearly flew off its hinges.

  ‘Well?’ Jake asked. ‘How do you think it’s going to go?’

  Roma let out a long breath. ‘Hard to tell. If he opens up, everything will be all right.’

  ‘And if he doesn’t?’

  ‘Then the only one who will be visiting the closet is the janitor.’ She wiped the towel across the back of her neck. ‘I wish the poor guy luck – for our sanity as well as his.’

  Hawk’s palms were sweaty on the steering wheel when he pulled into the parking lot for Missy’s building. God, his nerves felt like they were trying to poke through his skin. His breaths were ragged, and he felt almost light-headed. If he didn’t watch it, he was going to start hyperventilating.

  All because of a stupid date.

  He turned off the engine and stared at her front door.

  What the hell were they doing?

  This wasn’t what they needed. Dressing up in fancy clothes? Going to a restaurant whose name he couldn’t even pronounce? How was that supposed to fix anything? If she’d just let him touch her…

  But she wouldn’t.

  His hand fisted tightly around the steering wheel. Apparently touching was the problem. He still couldn’t quite figure out whose genius idea that had been. Sex between the two of them had always been fantastic. The problems hadn’t started until the fucking had stopped.

  And those problems were quickly reaching crisis stage.

  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The last few days had been hell. Pure hell. Every time he’d tried to get close to her, she’d turned away. He couldn’t take much more of the cold shoulder she’d been giving him. Being without her was killing him. Inch by inch by inch. He missed her in his bed. He missed her in his arms. He missed her. Period.

  Reaching for the door handle, he gave it a yank. He still didn’t quite understand what this ‘more’ thing was that she wanted, but he’d try to give it to her.

  For her, he’d try.

  The suit he wore actually gave him a bit of confidence as he strode up the front sidewalk. Roma had helped him pick it out and, looking at himself in the mirror, he’d realised he looked damn near respectable in the thing.

  Almost like a man who could be with an educated, classy lady.

  Holding onto that thought, he knocked on her door. He was surprised when she opened it almost instantly.

  ‘You’re early,’ she accused.

  Words died on his lips as he took in the sight of her. She looked incredible. He’d never seen her dressed up before. Dressed down was more their style. Way down. Like naked. She looked great that way, but this was a close second.

  Her hair looked soft and shiny as it swung about her shoul
ders. She was wearing a little black dress. He’d never quite understood the allure those things were supposed to have, but he got it now. The dress was sleeveless with a neckline that teased him with just a peek at her cleavage. The skirt was nearly as bad, curling close around her bottom and hips and stopping well above her knees.

  The shoes, though. Damn. He couldn’t stop staring at her shoes. The heels must have been at least four inches high and the straps…They wound up around her ankles and tied in sexy little bows.

  He couldn’t help himself. All of Roma’s warnings and instructions flew out of his head. Instinct took over, and he reached for her.

  Missy flinched and pulled back sharply. ‘What are you doing?’ she hissed.

  His empty hands curled into fists. ‘Picking you up for our date.’

  ‘I know that!’ She caught him by the arm and pulled him inside. Quickly, she scanned the parking. ‘What are you doing at my front door? You know I always meet you out in the parking lot.’

  The irritation he’d been feeling about this whole charade came back with a vengeance. She was dumping her lazy-ass boyfriend anyway. What did she care if he found out about them now? He nearly said something before he remembered he wasn’t supposed to know. ‘I looked,’ he said, gritting his teeth. ‘His car isn’t here.’

  She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if standing in the doorway was making her cold. ‘That doesn’t mean he couldn’t show up.’

  ‘Then get your coat,’ Hawk said. He’d had just about enough of this ‘jumping-through-hoops’ crap. He wasn’t the type of guy who snuck around. Why she was making everything so complicated was beyond him. ‘Let’s go. We’ve got reservations.’

  The look she threw at him wasn’t happy. In fact, he hadn’t seen her smile for days. She was the one who’d caused this estrangement, but it looked as if it was wearing just as hard on her as it was on him.

  ‘If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to,’ she said a bit sadly.

  It was the sadness that got to him. ‘Missy,’ he said, taking a step towards her. ‘It doesn’t have to be this way.’

  Her eyes were limpid as she looked up at him. He threaded his hand through her hair and pulled her close. Just the scent of her perfume made him hard. ‘Come home with me. Let me take you to bed and make everything right again.’