by Unknown
I gently slide the door open, careful to not make a peep, then step inside. I know exactly where to sandwich myself so I remain undetected, even if someone were to look inside. The room is dark, the closet even darker, but I know my way around so I’m startled when I smack into something hard that lets out a grunt.
“Sorry,” I whisper, cringing. “I didn’t know someone was in here.”
“It’s fine,” Dan whispers back, our bodies so close I can feel his breath, which smells of mint and tobacco. The closeness has me nervous and on edge, making me a bit dizzy with the mugginess of the closet.
“I’ll find somewhere else.” I move to leave but he stops me, grabbing my arm.
“Not enough time,” he says right into my ear. The way his breath tickles and travels down my body is a feeling only he can provoke. It makes me feel alive.
I hear Sam coming down the hall, so I do the first thing that comes to mind so we aren’t found. I take hold of Dan’s hand and pull him further into the back, letting his coats close around us and I step over his pile of duffel bags.
The small, hidden spot is barely enough room for myself, so cramming in two people has us flush against each other. Every movement, be it twitch or breath, is felt by the other.
Dan adjusts by wrapping his arms around me, and I have no choice but to do the same. Our faces are almost cheek to cheek, but he’s slightly taller so his lips rest near my temple.
The summer heat mixed with his closeness has me feeling a little light-headed.
I’m contemplating apologizing for my behavior yesterday when Dan makes an obvious inhale, bringing his nose into the strands of my hair, “Why does your hair always smell so good?”
I shrug, “My shampoo, I guess.”
“The stuff in our shower?”
I nod, knowing he can feel it. I keep toiletries here, preferring my own to Sam’s.
“No, that’s not it,” he says into my ear. “It doesn’t smell like this.”
“Maybe it’s what it smells like after it dries?” I offer.
“No, I’ve tried it on my own hair.”
I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes to mind, then realization hit me, “Wait, you tried it?”
He nods, “I was trying to figure out what makes you always smell so good.”
“Always?” It comes out louder than a whisper, almost like a croak or a squeak.
He shushes me and puts his hand over my mouth.
Sam enters the room and I can hear her checking under the bed before she opens the closet. She stands there for a second before moving on.
Dan lowers his arm and slides it back around my body.
When it’s clear she’s gone outside, neither one of us moves. I don’t want to; this is the closest I have ever been to him and I know it will be the last. I want this moment to last for eternity.
Knowing I don’t have the will to leave, I give him the okay, “It’s safe.”
He nods. The sides of our faces and hair brush each other, but he doesn’t move his body from mine.
After several seconds he takes my hand in his and leads me through the coats, helping me step over his pile of duffel bags. He keeps my hand in his as he exits, looking back and forth down the hall before we make a mad dash to the kitchen. We’re the first to make it back as we slide up onto the counter, both of us laughing. A giddy feeling always comes over me when I know I made it to home base undetected.
Dan has his body right next to mine, our hands curled over the edge of the counter pinkie to pinkie, and we watch our feet swing back and forth. It makes my heart race, but I know it’s nothing. This isn’t the first time he’s sat this close. Years ago I thought perhaps he did it on purpose, but I’ve gotten over that crazy notion.
“Dude!” Maddox proclaims, joining us. “How did you two fools make it here already? I swear Mary casts some kind of spell to make her poof in here.”
“No, I just used a Portkey,” I deadpan, trying to keep a straight face.
Nobody gets my joke.
North is the next to arrive, going to the fridge and getting himself and the two other boys a beer. He hands them off, followed by a root beer for me. Dan chugs the whole thing as though he was starving for one.
Eventually everyone makes it back. Tag is the first to be caught (although I have my suspicions Sam didn’t have to try that hard) and becomes the next finder.
I once again pretend to be headed someplace, and when I’m sure no one entered Dan’s room I quietly enter and go back to my spot in the closet.
Once again I smack into a hard body.
“Back again?” Dan asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“I could say the same about you,” I whisper in defense. Before my sentence is finished, he drags me to the back. Our bodies become as close as two bodies can be with their clothes still on.
“He’s coming,” Dan explains, his mouth to the side of mine.
I strain to hear something, but all I hear is others still finding a place to hide.
“Hannah?”
“Hm?”
“I’m going to kiss you.”
The air escapes my lungs as his lips brush along by jaw towards my mouth.
“Tell me to stop,” he says in a tone that sounds half desperate, half demanding.
I can’t. He has no idea that he’s about to validate the existence of fairytales for me.
Dan’s lips hover close to mine, and as they are about to connect, loud footsteps stomp into the room. Dan moves his head back and we remain still and quiet.
Tag roams the room, and when he leaves I let out a sigh. Not of relief, but of disappointment at the opportunity lost. Was it really going to happen anyway? Doubtful.
Maybe it’s the close quarters or maybe it’s the darkness hiding me. Perhaps it’s the full moon or the fact that I’m fed up with never having a say in my future. I will never know for sure, but something makes me bold for a brief moment and I seize my opportunity to have what I truly want. “Dan?”
“Hm?”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
Something vibrates from his chest. It’s somewhere between a growl and a grunt as his lips smash against mine.
I first taste the beer he had finished, the hops still lingering on his tongue, next mint and tobacco. I sigh into his mouth and the initial roughness of our kiss turns gentle and soft. His hand trails up my back to the back of my head as his tongue eases in, teasing mine. It’s better than anything I could have imagined.
The kiss only lasts a minute or two before he breaks from me, my eyes remaining closed.
Dan takes my hand and leads us out, “We have to get back to base.”
I want to yell that he can’t rush me like that, that he can’t give me my first kiss and then expect me to move, yet somehow I do. In a daze.
Dan opens another beer, leaning against the counter and eyeing me.
I try not to be self-conscious, but of course I am. “I guess now you know my secret hiding spot,” I blurt out far more awkwardly than I would have liked.
He gives me his shit-eating smirk with a glow to his eyes, “I guess I do.”
I have no clue what to say next. Thankfully, I’m saved by the sound of people arriving, ready to party.
Sam grabs my hand and pulls me to her room. She yammers on about something, but I’m not really in this world at the moment. I’m replaying the kiss and the way my lips long for more.
Sam nudges me, “What’s wrong with you tonight?”
I snap out of it, “Nothing.”
“Liar. You still weirded out about what your parents told you?”
“Yes,” I’m quick to reply. At least that was partly true.
“Don’t think about that, not while you’re here.”
I nod. She would be right if my thoughts weren’t consumed with something else at the moment.
Sam joins the party. I know my mind will wander if I go sketch, and I can’t do that to myself right now. I need some time to re
gain myself before I obsessively think about Dan’s lips against mine.
I head to the kitchen to get another root beer, my subconscious telling me the sugar won’t do me any good. I crack it open anyway and lean against the counter, scanning the crowd while I takes sips of my drink. Normally my eyes would linger on Dan, but I can’t tonight so I skim past him, then do a double-take because I’m pretty sure he was looking at me.
Yup, and he still is.
We hold our gaze. I try to read him, but can’t. I never can.
He gestures in the direction of the bedrooms.
Butterflies form as I nod back.
He mouths, “Five minutes.”
I nod again and watch as his body makes its way through the crowd, getting stopped along the way by a girl that is far prettier than me. She tries to come on to him and all the butterflies drop as I fully expect him to grab her and bring her back to his room, forgetting all about me.
He doesn’t. He says something that has her face clearly showing her disappointment, and then he’s going solo down the hall.
I steady my breathing, forcing myself to let it in and out while I watch the time on the stove take a decade to tick by. When it’s finally time, I’ve already talked myself out of going only to talk myself back into it about a dozen times before I head to his room.
Sam’s coming in from down the hall as I’m going back, “What’s up? I thought you were going to hang with us tonight?”
“I had an idea I want to get down.” Nobody ever bothers me when I sketch (except Danny), so I know I’m safe from her coming to look for me if she thinks that’s where I am.
She frowns and gives me a hug, “Okay, well come find me when you’re done.”
Danny’s door is shut and I stand there debating if I should knock or just go in. I can’t decide. I know it’s mostly nerves, but I can’t seem to move.
The door swings open with a tight-browed Danny who practically runs into me. His brows loosen when he sees me, “I didn’t think you were coming,”
“I almost didn’t,” I confess.
He scans down the hall before taking my hand and pulling me into his room, shutting the door behind us.
He drops my hand and goes to the other side of his room by the window. He swipes the beer off the sill and takes a large gulp. I watch him swallow and remember what those lips and tongue felt like against mine. My face reddens, and as his eyes slowly examine me from top to bottom I redden even more.
We’re alone in his room again. The last time we kissed, but it’s not enough for me. I want more. I need more.
I point to the beer in his hand, “Can I have some?”
Dan’s taken back by my question. He holds the bottle up, pointing to it with his free hand, “This beer?”
I lick my lips and nod.
He gives an unsure expression, “Sure.”
It doesn’t take long for him to cross his tiny room and be directly in front of me.
His closeness is too much for me, so I take a step back.
Dan frowns as he hands over the beer. I accept it and take a much bigger swallow than I probably should have, because it burns a bit and I cough.
Dan chuckles while he teases me, “Careful. Beer’s tricky.”
I take another, much smaller sip. I’ve only tasted beer one other time, when I was curious a couple years ago. I can’t decide if I love it or it’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted.
I have a bit more, and right away I feel the alcohol rush through, the liquid courage seeping in.
Dan reaches over to take it back, “I wouldn’t drink too much at once. This shit has a high alcohol percentage for a beer.”
“Sorry, I’m just really nervous,” I reveal. It must be the alcohol talking, or that he’s so close and it’s making my head jumbled.
He holds the beer against his chest, “Of me?”
I nod. Always.
He steps closer.
I step back, hitting his dresser behind me.
Dan reaches over my head, placing the bottle on top of the dresser and I get a whiff of him. It makes me feel faint, his scent so sexy to me. It’s a mixture from hours working in the sun and dirt, tobacco, beer, and the laundry detergent he uses. His hand rests on the dresser, “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”
I can’t breathe. I purse my lips and nod.
He searches my face, “It is though, isn’t it?”
I nod yes, wishing he’d give me some space so I can get some oxygen into my lungs.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. I fucked things up.”
“No!” I shout, not wanting him to ever think that.
He raises his brows, a small smile tugging his lips, “No? You mean you’re glad I kissed you?”
My answer comes out breathless, “Yes.”
His pale blues peer into my hazel ones, “Don’t be nervous.”
I can’t help it. He make me nervous. He’s always made me nervous.
His other hand cups my cheek and he watches his thumb brush back and forth over my lips. He moves it back to stroke my cheek, tilting it up so my lips are closer to his, our eyes never breaking contact. His hand then goes up to touch my hair, taking a few strands here or there and caressing them between his fingers. “I want to keep kissing you, but I don’t want you thinking you can’t say no because you’re too scared of me. I need to know you want this–”
“I want this,” I cut him off.
My God, how I want this. I’m tingling everywhere with how much I want this.
Dan smirks, “Good.”
His lips gently brush mine a few times.
“Your lips are so soft,” he says as he goes back to gently kissing me.
Something in me is building, and the gentleness is too gentle. I’ve been wanting this for far too long. I weave my hands up and into his hair, forcing his lips to press harder against mine, and I breathe my words into his mouth, “I need more.”
That’s all it takes, and he kisses me the way I’ve always wanted to be kissed: with passion.
I put everything I have into it, soaking him into me. His hands are all over my back and mine remain tugging on his hair, our tongues swirling and playing. We’re both pulling so our bodies can be closer, yet they never seem to be able to get close enough; at least not to my liking.
After I don’t know how long, Dan twirls us around, walks me backwards a few feet, and we fall onto his bed with him on top. A leg goes between mine, his thigh resting right where I wish I could have him; the spot that is meant for my future husband but that I wish was for Dan.
His body is hard over mine and it forces our bodies’ closer, satisfying us both for the time. We kiss longer and the heat rises; we’re both panting and grinding into the other, driving one another crazy, and his erection is digging into me.
Dan moves his hand to my hip, then it glides under the fabric of my shirt to rest on my stomach. “I won’t go further,” he reassures me. “I just needed to feel your skin.”
It means more than he’ll ever know that he’s being so respectful, and I want to tell him that I want him to go further, but I also know I’m not ready. My only response is I push his head back down so we can go back to our kissing.
Dan chuckles into my mouth.
I love the feel of his smile against my lips, and I can’t help but smile with him.
His lips start to travel down my neck and I moan; the sensation is so new to me and it sends goosebumps over my entire body. He runs his tongue along my collarbone and it has my eyes rolling back with pleasure.
I never want this night to end.
A loud knock comes at the door, but Dan ignores it even though I grow stiff.
It happens again and Dan curses under his breath, bringing his head up and looking over to the door,” Don’t come in here.”
“The crowd’s getting hungry,” Price says from the outside. “We’re getting some pizzas. What do ya want?”
Dan looks down at me, “You hungry?”
I nod.
He turns his head, “Get me a veggie pizza. No mushrooms.”
“Seriously?” I can picture the disgusted face Price must be making from his tone.
“Seriously. Now go the fuck away.”
We listen to Price retreating and I’m smiling like an idiot.
Dan turns to keep kissing me, but stops when he sees my smile, “What?”
“You know how I like my pizza?”
Dan is so serious when he answers, “Of course.” He goes back to trailing kisses along my collarbone while he talks. “Want to know something else?”
“Yes,” I breathe out, closing my eyes has his mouth sucks along the skin on my neck.
“I knew you always hid in my closet. Every fucking time. And every fucking time I’d have to force myself not to follow you in there.”
“But not today,” I whisper, smiling even bigger.
His lips move closer to mine, “No, not today.”
He ends the conversation by kissing me again and it goes on for hours, both of us forgetting about the pizza, a different hunger inside us. The kissing lasts to the point that my lips hurt and I’m aching between my legs. I’ve never been so turned on I actually hurt before.
“We have to stop,” Dan says as he trails kisses down my neck. “People will be leaving soon.”
I look over at the clock on his bedside table. It says that it’s almost two in the morning. He’s right. Sam will come into the room soon, expecting me to be there sleeping.
“Okay,” I agree, but he doesn’t stop exploring my chest and neck with his lips and I don’t try to stop him. I don’t think I have enough willpower. “Am I allowed to tell your sister?”
“Do you want to tell my sister?”
I don’t think I do. She’ll ask me questions I’m not ready to answer; ones I’m not even sure I can answer. “No.”
He lifts himself up, balancing next to the side of my head, “I agree. She’ll make this something it’s not. They all will.”
My heart sinks, “Are you embarrassed about kissing me?”
Dan’s head ticks back and he makes a face, “What? No, god no. Why would you think that?”
